Important: TALF part 1 - thanks Marty Rosenblatt - READ THIS - has haircut chart - maybe mortgages are next - Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility: Terms and Conditions1 - FRBNY 

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Fannie Mae to Loosen Refinancing Rules - By Jody Shenn - Bloomberg - … Fannie Mae will drop some credit-score requirements, reduce income-documentation standards and waive the need for appraisals in some cases, according to a notice to lenders it distributed this week. The changes apply to loans that the company owns or guarantees.  … - Washington Post

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1.  The John Paulson Way to Profits - Posted by Prieur du Plessis - John Paulson, US hedge fund manager, shot to fame last year by capitalizing in spectacular fashion on the credit crisis by betting against a number of financial institutions. A fascinating peep behind the curtain of his investment actions comes to us courtesy of DealBook, having obtained Paulson’s 28-page year-end report to his investors. - Investment Postcards from Cape Town 

2.  EXCELLENT: Updated with lots of charts - Credit Crisis Watch: Some Positive Developments - Posted by Prieur du Plessis - Investment Postcards from Cape Town

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no surprise - Equity Cash-Out At Eight-Year Low - In the fourth quarter of 2008, U.S. homeowners cashed out $17.5 billion in home equity through the refinance of prime first-lien mortgages, the lowest amount since the first quarter of 2001, according to Freddie Mac’s quarterly refinance review - Originator Times 

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Are Bankruptcy Cramdowns For Real? - by John Clapp  - Two developments that the servicing community should find noteworthy have taken shape this week. One deals with the again-red-hot bankruptcy cramdown issue; the other pertains to modifying loans or, more accurately, taking loan modifications to a new - and possibly necessary - level. The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday approved the plainly titled Helping Families Save Their Homes in Bankruptcy … - MortgageOrb 

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1.  Zillow:  U.S. Property Owners Lost $3.3 Trillion in Home Value Last Year -  By Dan Levy - … The U.S. housing market lost $3.3 trillion in value last year and almost one in six owners with mortgages owed more than their homes were worth as the economy went into recession, Zillow.com said. … - Bloomberg

2.  Obama Foreclosure-Relief Plan May Guarantee Rewritten Loans - By Alison Vekshin - The Obama administration is considering government guarantees for home loans modified by their servicers, seeking to stem the record surge of foreclosures that’s hammering U.S. property values. - Bloomberg 

3.  Toxic-Asset Guarantees Gain Momentum in US Bank-Rescue Talks -  Robert Schmidt - The Obama administration, aiming to overhaul the $700 billion financial-rescue program, is refocusing on an effort to guarantee illiquid assets against losses without taking them off banks’ balance sheets. - Bloomberg

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Signs Of The Coming Recovery - Brian S. Wesbury and Robert Stein - We have to be patient with monetary policy. - Forbes 

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1.  Freddie gives Ocwen a Shot - Freddie Mac hires servicers for high-risk mortgages - Reuters

2.  Citigroup deploys $36.5 bln, eyes exit on Mets - To invest $10 bln in Fannie, Freddie-backed home loans - Reuters

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Citigroup comes clean on TARP uses -  Amid heavy scrutiny from taxpayers and lawmakers, the bank issues a report detailing its use of $45 billion in government bailout funds - CNN Money

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has good chart - Reverse Mortgage Rates – John Yedinak - The average 10-year Treasury rate rose by 19 bp last week, and today it’s down 12 bp from Friday. Interesting times. With some offering HECM T+300 and HECM T+325 … - Reverse Mortgage Daily

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Pimco Official Wary of Fed Buying Treasurys - … Steve Rodosky, head of Treasury and derivatives trading at Newport Beach, Calif.-based Pimco, said …  “The risk of buying Treasurys is that you would widen the yield spreads between Treasurys and risky assets,” said Rodosky in an interview. … - WSJ Blogs