clear explanation and good charts - Mr. Mortgage: Dec CA Foreclosure Report - Defaults up 100% - December CA Mortgage Defaults Up 100% month-over-month, nearly reach record high 

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FDIC urges banks to disclose uses of federal funds - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp on Monday urged its member banks to publicly disclose how they are using the billions of dollars of government capital injections and guarantees.  The FDIC issued a letter to more than 5,000 banks it supervises, encouraging them to say more about how the funds have supported prudent lending and helped homeowners avoid foreclosure. - Reuters Yahoo

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Local Statistics, Affordability Is No Longer A Problem January 2009 - Local Building Market Intelligence™ -   John Burns RE Consulting

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very interesting speech - Fed Vice Chairman Donald L. Kohn - Troubled Asset Relief Program - Before the Committee on Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C. January 13, 2009 - FR Board

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2 traits of successful traders:  … I am not making this up 

1.  Study Cites Early Testosterone Exposure -  In addition to subprime mortgages, credit default swaps and lax government oversight, another factor may need to be added to the list of culprits responsible for the economic meltdown: testosterone. - thanks Marty Rosenblatt - Washington Post
2.  Finger length may predict financial success - WASHINGTON - The length of a man’s ring finger may predict his success as a financial trader. Researchers at the University of Cambridge in England report that men with longer ring fingers, compared to their index fingers, tended to be more successful in the frantic high-frequency trading in the London financial district. - Yahoo News - caught you looking !!! BC

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Contra Trend -  Investing: Newsletter Rebound? - The pricey services may get a boost as investors look for easier ways to search sources of investment info - BusinessWeek 

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bad, bad, bad - Seattle FHLB Likely Short of Capital on Mortgage Debt - By Jody Shenn - The Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle said it will suspend dividends and “excess” stock repurchases, becoming the second of the government-chartered lending cooperatives to say its capital may be running low. … Seattle joins the San Francisco FHLB in taking steps to guard its reserves … The declines may leave as many as eight of the 12 FHLBs below capital requirements, Moody’s Investors Service has said - Bloomberg

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great set of charts, look at all - Market Action, January 12 2009 - Weakening - The market is making me nervous.  Which means I should be buying.  But is my recognition that I should be buying because the market is making me nervous in fact mean the market is going to go to new lows … - Toro’s Running of the Bulls Market Blog

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Huge decline in mortgage yields and spreads - This is unprecedented. Since the end of October, the yields on FNMA mortgage-backed paper have fallen over two and a half percentage points, to an all-time low of 3.42% today. Yields on the reference 10-year Treasury have fallen one a half percentage points over the same period. … much more …I would be very surprised if we don’t see a bottoming in housing prices before summer.  - Calafia Beach Pundit
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30 Year Mortgage Rates At 4.5% - Is 3.5% Possible? - Mortgaged Future

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Credit Crisis Watch: Gaining Positive Traction - Posted by Prieur du Plessis -  a great collection of about a dozen charts showing where we stand - Investment Postcards from Capetown

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NY BANK: NO THANKS TO RESCUE - PAUL THARP - After being cleared for $596 million in banking rescue cash, New York Community Bancorp - the state’s fourth largest - declined yesterday to accept the cash or take on Uncle Sam as a partner. - NY Post

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Fannie Mae allows foreclosed renters to stay in homes - AP Newsday

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    IRA ARTMAN SECTION - thanks Ira: 

Plans to “Help” Homeowners Send Checks to Banks - Paying above market prices for mortgages subsidizes banks, not homeowners. - CEPR.net 

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Why banks are hoarding cash instead of lending - Jim Haughey - … But if we do this (bailout - bc) for too many people, mortgage capital will shrink significantly and mortgage rates will rise for everyone.  Mortgage lenders have a legal responsibility to take care of the money entrusted to them by investors and depositors.  So they are not making loans when they see too little home-owners equity to withstand a temporary income loss or a temporary fall in home prices.   … - Reed Contruction Digest Chief Economist 

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Dirt-Cheap Gas in 2009: Be Careful What You Wish For - By Michael T. Klare - Oil costs a third of what it did in July, and prices keep dropping. That may seem like a godsend now, but we’ll pay through the nose later. -   AlterNet 

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chart-0-rama  - “Another important detail the above chart reveals is that during the “dot-com” bust rising home prices all but eliminated the incidence of foreclosures as stressed households could either choose to borrow from their homes equity to stay afloat financially or simply sell their home at a profit and switch to a more modest housing arrangement.” - Paper Economy - A US Real Estate Bubble Blog