Big Deal - Wow - Markit, creator of the ABX index has put on hold in index for prime MBS after pressure from dealers! - The Next Financial WMD? by Dan Freed - TheStreet.com   - thanks to a friend for pointing this out.
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   received by April Smith:   Important Notice:

DUE TO RECENT BUDGET CUTS,
AND THE RISING COST OF ELECTRICITY, GAS AND OIL,
THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL HAS BEEN TURNED OFF.
WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE 
Sincerely,
The Government

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(Can we handle the coming refi wave? -BC) -  Mortgage Rates Left in Dust by Treasury Yields, Failed Lenders - By Jody Shenn - Bloomberg
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2008 Financial Report of the United States Government - Guide to Understanding the Annual Financial Report of the United States Government - Resource Page Treas.gov 

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Majjority of Credit Bubble Debt Due to Mature in 2014 - A chilling chart from CreditSights shows why, like Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, maturing debt from the credit bubble will menace global financial markets and istitutions over the next five or six years.  The peak maturity profile for U.S. leveraged finance deals made in 2006 and 2007, the height of the credit craze, is from 2011 to 2014, according to a CreditSights analysis. - Research Recap

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Citi under tight U.S. scrutiny after infusions: Journal - By Robert Daniel - Marketwatch

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In this issue of The Institutional Risk Analyst, we discuss the difference between how smaller banks are being resolved while larger organizations such as Citigroup and AIG are being bailed out at public expense.  Until the Obama Administration rejects the policies of the past and sets a consistent national standard for resolving zombie banks, the rebuilding of the US banking system and the global economy will be delayed.  - by Chris Whalen
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Remarks by FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair at the New America Foundation Conference: Did Low-income Homeownership Go Too Far? delivered on December 17, 2008 are available at FDIC.gov
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The US is not Japan - Vinny Catalano - ZIRP (Zero Interest Rate Policy) has arrived in the US. And with it comes the inevitable comparisons with the last major country to employ the policy – Japan. The low hanging intellectual fruit is to conclude that what happened in Japan will happen in the US. Japan employed ZIRP for years with little affect ergo the US will have the same experience. 
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For One Lender, FHA Has Been a Vital Lifeline - By PAUL JACKSON - Government loans are hot — so hot, in fact, that compared with total volumes through the third quarter of 2007, St. Louis-based Lenders One Mortgage Cooperative said Wednesday that origination levels of FHA/VA loans have more than tripled at the firm through the same period for 2008. … - housingwire

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READ THIS: Using the US Treasury 30 Year Bond to Ignite the Mortgage Market  - As I look at my Bloomberg screen, with just under 1 hour to the FOMC interest rate announcement, the 30 year Treasury bond is selling at a yield to maturity of 2.93%. Why don’t we use the 30 year Treasury to finance the mortgage market?  It would be very simple to construct. The US Treasury offers loans to banks at 50 basis points above the 30 year at issuance who willing to make mortgage loans. - Scott Rothbort - The Finance Professor

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Bernanke Charts New Fed Course With Zero Rate, Asset Purchases -  Craig Torres - … It’s going to take a combination of fiscal and monetary stimulus to get the job done,” said former Fed Governor Lyle Gramley, now senior economic adviser at Stanford Group Co. in Washington. The central bank has signaled it will “make sure that the fiscal stimulus package, which is going to be a big one, is fully supported” and “in effect financed by the Fed.” … - Bloomberg
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Investor Fudges Credit Scores in $66 Million Fraud  - Steve Gordon has been accused of allegedly changed credit scores on at least 2,800 mortgages before selling them to investors, as part of a $66 million fraud scheme. Gordon was a partner at wholesale mortgage investor, Bayview Financial. Watch the video fron CBS 4 Miami. -  Originator Times

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    IRA ARTMAN SECTION - thanks Ira: 

The Economy Is Weakening Badly as 2008 Draws to a Close - NAHB 

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1.  Credit thaw is agonizingly slow - Jim Haughey - Notes from Jim Haughey - Insight and Analysis of Construction Industry Trends - Reed Construction Data
2.  A Magical Place where De-leveraging meets Monetary and Fiscal Stimulus - Alex Carrick  - A Hint of Desperation in Yesterday’s Interest Rate Move - Reed Construction Data