Who Holds the Old Maid? - It’s More Than Freddie and Fannie … The US Banking System Is in Trouble  … (Chris Whalen) There is a crisis brewing. He expects 100 banks to fail between now and July of 2009. Most of them will be small, but there will be a few large banks. The total assets of those banks he estimates to be $850 billion (not a typo!). … $500 Billion and Counting … Fannie, Freddie, and the Credit Crisis  - John Mauldin’s Weekly E-Letter 
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My Bet on Fannie - Lisa Hess - Swallow hard and stand firm with your mortgage stocks. But get a tax loss out of them.  - Forbes

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The Market Direction… - Financials and TED Spread Could Signal a Bottom for Corporate Profit Declines - Credit risks still remain unquantified but the Ted Spread has been on a downward descent. - Hillbent.com
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MORTGAGES HARDER TO GET - Richard Wilner - … “I still have six out of 10 people getting approved, but they and I have to work a lot harder to get the mortgage approved.”  … - New York Post

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The bank for banks sits atop MBS risk  - Tim McLaughlin - The $84 billion Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, a key source of funding for more than 450 banks and credit unions in New England, is sitting atop a potential powder keg of risky mortgage-backed securities that threatens to trigger big losses if real estate prices continue to tank. - MSNBC
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Delinquencies Still Rising -  I’ll let the picture do the talking here. Taken from Calculated Risk, we see continued rising delinquencies across the board in Residential Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate, and Consumer Credit cards. 
How to play it:
- Short Commercial Real Estate (short CBG, short GGP, long SRS)
- Short Credit Card Companies (short COF, short DFS)
- Short banks with lots of leverage, lots of derivative exposure, and lots of residential/commercial real estate exposure  - Market Folly Blog
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IS MBIA signaling an Insurance Rally? - Ockham Research Staff 

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If the 5% rate WaMu is offering on CDs isn’t indication enough that there’s trouble brewing, the fact that WaMu is promoting it with a hand drawn white board sign certainly clinches it. - Global Economic Analysis
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The strength of a measured view of GSE preferreds - John Dizard - … So, with the market’s affirmation, and the agreement of one of the Street’s flintiest sceptics, I’m sticking to my position: the GSE preferreds should survive. … - FT.com

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Housing slump drags on broader Southern California economy - Peter Yang - … Sohn estimates that 1 out of 8 jobs in Southern California is related in some way to housing, and as much as 80% of a median household’s net worth is in the family home. … - LA Times

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IRA ARTMAN  SECTION - thanks Ira:

Bankruptcy Filings Near Million Mark for 12-Month Period Ending June 30, 2008 - In the 12-month period ending June 30, 2008, there were 967,831 bankruptcy cases filed, according to statistics released today by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That is a 28.9 percent increase compared to filings for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2007, when cases totaled 751,056. - US Courts 

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Booklet:  A Consumer’s Guide to Mortgage Refinancings - FR Board

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Grim Tales From The FDIC - Joseph Rosta - …  Net income for all FDIC-insured institutions totaled $5 billion, plunging 86.5 percent from $36.8 billion in second-quarter 2007. That was the worst showing since the fourth quarter of 1991. The bulk of the decline was attributable to money center banks, but 56.4 percent of the institutions saw net earnings decline. Loss provisions jumped to $50.2 billion from $11.4 billion a year earlier. … -  U.S. Banker