Chart of the Day -  The stock market is about to enter what has historically been the weakest half of the year. … Hence the saying, “sell in May and walk away.” - Chart of the Day 
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Fannie Mae loan commitments, portfolio up in March - … The government-sponsored enterprise said its mortgage commitments rose to $31 billion last month from $25 billion in February, and were the highest since September. … - Reuters
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1.  LOOK AT THIS - GREAT PRESENTATION on peak oil - Twilight In The Desert - Matthew Simmons
2.  thanks to Michael Shedlock  for this - Geopolitics of Peak Oil

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The Velocity Of Money - John Mauldin’s Weekly E-Letter 

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For Bank Bosses, a Week on the Hotseat - New York Times 

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BofA to discard Countrywide name - Bank of America plans to drop the Countrywide Financial name after it closes on its purchase of the troubled mortgage lender later this year. The bank generally drops the name of an acquired institution.  … - Bizjournals.com 

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Government Got What It Asked for in Housing Bust: Caroline Baum - Bloomberg 
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Foreclosure nearby? It’s your problem - Think the foreclosure crisis isn’t your worry? Think again. If your neighbors lose their houses, you can expect more broken windows, drugs and crime. - MSN Money
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Alan Greenspan: The Age of Hubris (and the long road back) - by Clif Droke - Hubris is an amazing thing. It causes those infected by it to justify actions that would normally be indefensible.  Take Alan Greenspan, for instance. - safehaven

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Report on UBS’ $37 Billion Writedown - Kids, we have some fascinating reading in store for you this weekend. - The “conservative” Swiss banking giant UBS — and I put that in quotes for obvious reasons — wrote down a previously unimaginable $37 Billion dollars. Their shareholders were (ahem/cough) quite perturbed. So the nice folks at UBS, with an assist from KPMG, put together a 50 page report detailing the hows and whys UBS took such a humungo hit.  - The Big Picture

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Camouflaged ownership changes dodge taxes -  A watchdog program to find people who do not report changes in ownership of San Francisco real estate to avoid taxes has yielded its first successful tip and added $1.34 million to the city’s coffers. via ScrippsNews - SFGate 
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Pain of Foreclosures Spreads to the Affluent - NY Times 

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Associations need to face troubled times square on - thoughts about challenges ahead for condo associations and condo lending - Chicago Daily Herald

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Fed interest rate cuts prove calming to sub-prime mortgage resets  -  LA Times 
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Inflation Is on the Rise, Fed Should Stand Pat: John M. Berry - Bloomberg 

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The Case For 2-1/4 - The Federal Open Market Committee’s next meeting is scheduled for April 29/30, which the May fed funds futures contract currently anticipates will result in another 25-basis-point reduction in the target fed funds rate down to 2.0%. Here’s why I hope the Fed doesn’t do that. - James Hamilton - Econbrowser

posted by Bill Coppedge