Burdened by Mortgages, Lehman’s Options Narrow - Jenny Anderson - NY Times

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Housing Rebound Unlikely Before 2009, HUD Chief Says - Alison Vekshin - Bloomberg

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C.A.R. July 2008 Sales and Price Report - Home sales increased 43.4 percent in July in California compared with the same period a year ago, while the median price of an existing home fell 40.3 percent, the CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) reported today. - C.A.R. website

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WaMu Offering 5% 12 Month CDs - From WaMu: a 5% 12 month FDIC insured CD. (hat tip Anthony) - Just saying … WaMu is paying 5% in an environment when few banks are paying over 4.25% and most banks are under 4% for one year CD. - CalculatedRisk 

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RATE OF HOUSE PRICE DECLINES SLOWS IN SECOND QUARTER - OFHEO News Release 
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Fannie Mae’s July portfolio rose 14.4 percent - Reuters 

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Gross, Fuss discuss capital raising by Fannie, Freddie: Bill Gross, chief investment officer at Pacific Investment Management, and Dan Fuss, vice chairman of Loomis Sayles, said they would participate in fundraising efforts by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac if the Treasury is also involved. The two disagreed on how the deals should be structured: Gross is interested in a straight preferred-stock offering, while Fuss suggested a convertible-debenture offering. Reuters

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2 from bankstocks.com   -
1.  Wachovia is paying up for 5-year CD money in Philadelphia. Not a good sign! Vernon Hill explains
2.  Also: What’s Sovereign Bancorp doing with all those GSE preferreds?
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Libor Signals Credit Seizing as Banks Balk at Lending - Liz Capo McCormick and Gavin Finch -  Bloomberg

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FDIC may borrow money from Treasury: report  - Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) might have to borrow money from the Treasury Department to see it through an expected wave of bank failures, the Wall Street Journal reported.  - Reuters 

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A Preferred Problem; Fannie, Freddie Downgrades Loom Large - PAUL JACKSON - housingwire

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Does Equity Key’s Product Make More Sense Than A Reverse Mortgage? - …  So while the homeowner might receive more money by using a reverse mortgage, Equity Key’s product doesn’t increase the borrowers mortgage balance.  The program is a lot like the REX agreement which I’ve covered before but it differs because seniors are required to pass a physical in order to be eligible for the product.  The company uses an insurance policy which is taken out on the borrower when the agreement is signed … - Reverse Mortgage Daily 

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US Prime Auto Loan Performance Weakens Further in June - … in Moody’s latest auto loan indexes.  Prime auto loan credit performance deteriorated in June 2008 as net loss and delinquency rates increased compared to year-ago levels. Moody’s prime auto loan net loss rate rose to 1.24% in June 2008, an increase of 87% from the level of 0.66% during June 2008, a 18% increase from its year-ago level of 0.46%. -   Research Recap