Change We Can Believe In Is All Around Us - Brian Wesbury - The last thing we need is intereference by either candidate. - WSJ.com 

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Over One Million Homes Now in Foreclosure - - The seasonally adjusted delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties stood at 6.35 percent of all loans outstanding at the end of the first quarter of 2008 on a seasonally adjusted (SA) basis, up 53 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2007, and up 151 basis points from one year ago, according to MBA’s National Delinquency Survey.  - Originator Times
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Downey’s Aversion to Home Equity, Construction Lending: Key to Its Survival - Evan Pelham - … As of June 6th, the stock trades at an unbelievable 15% of tangible book value. The market cap is now just $162 million versus shareholder equity of $1.09 billion. … seeking alpha

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Ex-WaMu workers tapped for their mortgage expertise - BILL VIRGIN - P-I REPORTER 

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How To Get Out Of This Mess - In this report we will attempt to explain what needs to take place in order to resolve the mess we find ourselves in due to over consumption, excess debt and the government trying to micro manage.  We believe the Fed and Government were the main cause of the dual bubbles (stock market and housing) by attempting to stop the perceived deflation in 2001.  … - Comstock Funds 

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The Home-Equity Door Slams Shut - This past January, Lisa and JR Falkenhagen opened a letter from Countrywide Financial informing them that, effective immediately, they could no longer withdraw funds from their home-equity line of credit. The reason: a significant decline in their home’s value from the appraised value when the loan was made. - Kiplinger.com 

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Bank of America Gives Investment Bank Another Chance - David Mildenberg - Bloomberg 

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Banks giving short-term help to mortgagors - The biggest U.S. banks that service more than 23 million mortgages totaling $3.8 trillion have focused on short term relief for troubled borrowers rather than permanent changes to mortgage conditions to prevent foreclosures, a top U.S. banking regulator said on Wednesday.  - Reuters 
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Wanna Invest? Spitzer’s Back - Former NY Governor Looking to Launch Distressed RE Fund - AMY MCALISTER  -  housingwire

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Survey reveals downsizing trend for homes - Census data, though, shows home sizes growing -   Inman News
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Cumulative Subprime Mortgage Losses: Why Estimates Are Too High 
What I would have added on CNBC last night, if I’d had the time  - Thomas Brown  BANKSTOCKS.COM 

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Indymac Reports Financial Freedom Production Down - has highlights - Reverse Mortgage Daily

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Libor competition? - What Type of Impact Will Launching the NYFR Fixings Have? - Lou Crandall - ICAP (LSE:IAP) has announced that it will launch its NYFR Fixings, a new survey-based measure of 1- and 3-month unsecured bank funding costs on June 11. - riskcenter.com

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Sovereign Wealth Funds Much Like Other Investors - A large new study from the Monitor group confirms what much recent research has suggested: sovereign wealth funds do not differ markedly in their investment objectives from other investment firms. The only exception to the rule being that SWFs, typically favor investment in their home countries over foreign investment opportunities, according to the study Assessing the risks. - Research Recap

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2 from Ira Artman - thanks Ira:

Eye-popping late payments - … One in 11 mortgaged houses was at least 30 days late or in foreclosure at the end of March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The delinquency and foreclosure rates are the highest in the 36-year history of the MBA’s quarterly survey.  … Bankrate.com 

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Overwhelmed by home debt - Justin Harelik  - Dear Bankruptcy Adviser, What are the risks of walking away from a mortgage? My loan payments consume more than 50 percent of my net income, leaving me hardly any money leftover each month. I have virtually no money left in available savings and have chosen to no longer make my mortgage payments and move back from Nevada to California. Please share your advice.- Bankrate.com

posted by Bill Coppedge