Some Bright News in Friday’s Labor Report - Mark Perry - Carpe Diem 

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Washington Mutual to get $5 billion from TPG, others: report - Washington Post

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A Needle in a Haystack: Where’s the Good News on Housing? - A report released yesterday by real estate analytics firm RadarLogic highlighted continued problems for housing in January: out of 25 major MSAs studied, only two remained in positive pricing territory… -  housingwire

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Wow -  A Decade-Long Slog Citigroup celebrates its 10-year anniversary. Hold the cake and champagne. - Thomas K. Brown - bankstocks.com 
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3 Part Video Interview: George Soros on Financial Markets - Prieur du Plessis - Investment Postcards from Cape Town 

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Court Holds That “Loan Origination Fee” May Include Separately Disclosed Charges.-  In a case of first impression, a Maryland federal court held that the Maryland Secondary Mortgage Loan Law (the SMLL) permits lenders to charge a variety of fees arising from the origination of a secondary mortgage loan, not just a single “loan origination fee.” -  Buckley Kolar 

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Integrated Asset Services gets the US News treatment - Luke Mullins over at US News  hits one out of the park today with none other than Integrated Asset Services’ own Ryan Tomazin. The bottom line? Price mostly suck, but don’t suck everywhere. - Paul Jackson - housingwire

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Thoughts on the Continuing Crisis - John Mauldin’s Weekly E-Letter
If the Rules are Inconvenient, Change the Rules
Let’s Re-arrange the Deck Chairs
Regulations Coming to a Hedge Fund Near You
More Fun in the Unemployment Numbers
A Muddle Through Recession
How Much do we Borrow for a $1 growth in GDP?
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Freddie Mac Requires Remediation Plan From Triad Guaranty Following Ratings Downgrade - Freddie Mac has been notified by Triad Guaranty Insurance Corporation (Triad Guaranty), a Freddie Mac-approved mortgage insurer, that it has been downgraded by Fitch Ratings from AA- to BBB-. - In anticipation of a potential downgrade, Freddie Mac has already held meetings with Triad Guaranty officials to discuss their plans to manage through current market conditions. - PRNewswire-FirstCall -    EarthTimes

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Shelter Fallout - David Merkel has 10 worthwhile thoughts about housing markets. - The Aleph Blog 

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3 articles from Wharton - thanks Ira Artman
1.  The Use — and Misuse — of Statistics: How and Why Numbers Are So Easily Manipulated  

2.  Gaming the System: Are Hedge Fund Managers Talented, or Just Good at Fooling Investors? 

3.  Coming Soon … Securitization with a New, Improved (and Perhaps Safer) Face 

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UBS Plan May Be the Road Map for Financials -  …  UBS essentially has placed securities linked to US mortgages into a separate subsidiary. The eventual goal will be either to spin off the subsidiary or, in the short term, sell chunks of it to investors. … - Todd Sullivan’s - ValuePlays

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1.  Richard Bitner is one of our contributors.  Here is a review of his book:  Greed, Fraud, & Ignorance - A Subprime Insider’s Look at the Mortgage Collapse - themessthatgreensapnmade 

2.  John Yedinak  found this article about Richard in the Dallas Morning News

posted by Bill Coppedge