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Testimony of Chairman Bernanke on the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Federal Reserve’s liquidity facilities -  Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives

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Mortgage Cram-Down Legislation Resurfaces – Kelly Curran – The cram-down debate is back: Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) re-introduced hotly-contested legislation Monday that would allow judges to modify the terms of distressed mortgages on primary residences in bankruptcy cases — and this time, sources suggest the legislation faces good odds of passing. – housingwire 

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Video-o-rama: Jim Rogers on the lie of the land  – John Authers, investment editor of FT, has just conducted a wide-ranging four-part video interview with Jim Rogers, legendary investor and author. The video clips are included in this post.   -   Investment Postcards from Capetown

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Fold Up The TARP – Jessica Lillian – … Indeed, many market participants indicated that their asset-purchase activity had been delayed while they awaited word from the government on the details of the TARP. This latest news from Paulson may be the green light they need to go forth and buy. … – Mortgage Orb

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Generation Hires Reverse Mortgages for Dummies Author – John Yedinak – Generation Mortgage recently announced that John Lucas has joined their California branch as a reverse mortgage originayor.  Lucas brings over 19 years of reverse mortgage experience to the company and is the co-author of Reverse Mortgages for Dummies. “We are ecstatic to have John join our Retail Division. He has years of industry experience, and along … – Reverse Mortgage Daily

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US Homebuilder Bond Investors Enjoy Strong Protections – U.S. homebuilders have been hit hard in the credit crisis and their bonds have suffered downgrades, but because of strong covenants, investors in the sector actually enjoy greater protections than bondholders in other North American industries, said Moody’s Investors Service in a special comment. … The strongest protections for homebuilding bondholders, according to Moody’s, are change-of-control puts.  … -  Research Recap 

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Markets Pricing in 98% Chance of 50 Bps Fed Cut By Year-End – ForexTV.com 

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Modified mortgages often re-default – … “Industry evidence indicates that in a majority of instances loan modifications simply delay the timeline from default to foreclosure but don’t prevent them from taking place,” Nathaniel Otis and William Clark, analysts at KBW, wrote in a note to investors on Tuesday.  … -  MarketWatch 

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Citi Sees Consumer Losses Rising $1 Billion-$2 Billion Per Quarter – Ed Welsch – … The notes, released on the company’s Web site, reveal “buried” details about company’s expectation that consumer credit losses will be substantially higher, said Bernstein Research analyst John McDonald, who alerted his clients to the disclosure Tuesday. … – Money CNN

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No US turnaround till mid-2009: Bank of America CEO – … Chief Executive Kenneth Lewis said on Tuesday it is “pretty clear” the U.S. economy is in a recession, and forecast no recovery until the housing market stabilizes around the middle of 2009…. – Reuters 

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Fannie in Danger Of Stock Delisting – Sub-$1 Price Violates NYSE Rules – Zachary Goldfarb – Washington Post

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Residential Credit Solutions Named as an Approved Servicer by Fannie Mae – PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Specialized Mortgage Investment and Servicing Platform Backed by Private Equity Firm Equifin Capital Partners and Och-Ziff Capital Management approved to service loans by Fannie Mae – Marketwatch