By Jennifer Loven, Associated Press Writer
Bush signs massive housing bill intended to provide mortgage relief, stabilize markets
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Bush on Wednesday signed a massive housing bill intended to provide mortgage relief for 400,000 struggling homeowners and stabilize financial markets.
Bush signed the bill without any fanfare or signing ceremony, affixing his signature to the [...]

By Robert Jablon, Associated Press Writer on Yahoo.com
LOS ANGELES – A strong earthquake shook Southern California on Tuesday, causing buildings to sway and triggering some precautionary evacuations. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The jolt was felt from Los Angeles to San Diego, and slightly in Las Vegas.
The 11:42 a.m. quake was initially [...]

By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Markets cheer confidence report, big drop in crude futures, Merrill’s writedown and Amgen’s results.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Stocks rose sharply Tuesday, with the Dow surging more than 160 points on falling oil prices and several encouraging financial and economic reports.
Stocks advanced rapidly at the open after investment bank Merrill Lynch [...]

By Timothy R. Homan and Courtney Schlisserman
July 29 (Bloomberg) — Home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell at a faster pace in May, and consumer confidence stayed this month near the lowest level since 1992, posing a threat to household spending.
The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index dropped 15.8 percent from a year earlier, the biggest decline [...]

By Martin Crutsinger, Associated Press on AOL.com
WASHINGTON -The Bush administration and federal banking regulators joined with the nation’s four largest banks Monday to endorse a new way to pump money into the battered U.S. mortgage market.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson  unveiled a set of best practices designed to encourage banks to issue a debt instrument known [...]

By David Mildenberg
July 28 (Bloomberg) — Wachovia Corp. may sell its mutual funds, the securities brokerage or Northeast and Texas branches as Chief Executive Officer Robert Steel copes with fallout from a record $8.9 billion quarterly loss, according to analysts.
Businesses that Steel may decide aren’t essential to the fourth-largest U.S. bank could include Wachovia Securities, [...]

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com Staff Writer
The legislation – likely to be enacted soon – devotes $300 billion to helping troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure. See if you qualify.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Senate on Saturday passed a $300 billion housing rescue bill aimed at helping troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure and supporting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and [...]

By Shannon D. Harrington
July 25 (Bloomberg) — Washington Mutual Inc., the biggest U.S. savings and loan, fell for a third day in New York trading on investor concern that the lender may need to raise cash.
The cost of protecting WaMu’s bonds from default reached a record after Gimme Credit LLC analyst Kathleen Shanley said yesterday [...]

By Mark Felsenthal, Edited by Neil Stempleman, Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Sales of newly constructed U.S. single-family homes were stronger than expected in June, and inventories shrank to three-and-a-half-year low, a government report showed on Friday, providing a glimmer of hope for the beaten-down housing market.
U.S. new home sales fell 0.6 percent to a 530,000 annual [...]

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
220,000 homes were lost to bank repossessions in the second quarter, and the annual forecast for 2008 will have to be revised upward.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As foreclosures continue to soar, 220,000 homes were lost to bank repossessions in the second quarter, according to a housing market report Friday issued [...]

By Dee-Ann Durbin and Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writers on Yahoo.com
Ford posts $8.7B 2Q loss on asset write-downs, will switch 2 US plants from trucks to cars
DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Ford Motor Co. posted the worst quarterly performance in its history Thursday, losing $8.67 billion in the second quarter.
The company also said it will retool [...]

By Jonathan Keehner and Jason Kelly, Bloomberg.com
July 24 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve, looking to spur investment in banks hit by credit losses, is weighing three measures to ease regulatory constraints on private-equity funds that buy stakes in lenders, people with knowledge of the deliberations said.
One proposal would permit buyout firms to use so-called silo [...]

Martin Crutsinger, AP Economics Writer on Yahoo.com
Existing home sales fall 2.6 percent in June, more than double the expected amount
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of existing homes fell more sharply than expected in June as the housing industry continued to be bruised by the worst slump in more than two decades.
The National Association of Realtors reported [...]

By STEPHANIE SIMON, Wall Street Journal
Texas residents in the lower Rio Grande Valley braced for potential flooding and levee breeches on Wednesday as Hurricane Dolly lumbered ashore with strengthening winds and torrential rains.
Authorities kept a wary eye on an extensive – and aging — levee system protecting homes and cropland along the Mexican border. The [...]

By David Mildenberg, Bloomberg.com
July 23 (Bloomberg) — Wachovia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Robert Steel, in the job only two weeks, drove up the bank’s market value $7.7 billion in a single day after reporting the biggest quarterly loss in its history.
Wachovia rallied 27 percent in New York trading yesterday, the most in almost 25 years, [...]

By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com
President drops veto threat of bill to offer $300 billion in mortgages and back up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. House vote expected Wednesday.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The House was poised Wednesday to pass sweeping legislation that will offer up to $300 billion in assistance to troubled homeowners and throw government support [...]

The Associated Press was the first on the scene to write about another big bank (WACHOVIA) leaving the wholesale industry.  More information on this story will come tomorrow with earnings reports.  The story goes as follows.
Wachovia leaves wholesale mortgage lending business
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Wachovia Corporation, the nation’s fourth largest-bank, said Monday that it is [...]

Jeff Collins of the Orange County Register wrote an article about the outlook for our real estate market.  The builders seem to be the ones with no where to run.  The lack of land on top of the homeowner’s inability to get cash out of there property equals a tough time for builders.  The beginning [...]

Chris Isidore of CNNMoney.com wrote an article about the safety of our banking industry.  Some have been saying that mattress money (cash at home) is the way to go in our current market conditions.  I can’t say I agree… but I am paying attention to who I am banking with.  There are many bank in [...]

David Mildenberg of Bloomberg.com put an article together this morning about Bank of America and its continuing success.  I myself didn’t believe that Bank of America was in any threatening position after there lending practices over the years.  They are the one bank who didn’t really let its guard down throughout the mortgage boom and [...]

Jeff Bater wrote an article on the Wall Street Journal today about our marketplace and how it gets held back by codes and regulations.  A lot of people don’t think that this affects our market and the condition our economy is in, but it’s simply not the case.  The turn around of our real estate [...]

Vivien Lou Chen of Bloomberg.com put a story on the map today that I don’t think many are ready for.  Interest rate increases are on there way and what will the affects be on the marketplace?  I don’t know how much more the market depression can continue, but I do know that interest rate increases [...]

ADAM SCHRECK of the Associated Press put the article together today about our Oil and where it might be heading.  Of course there is A LOT of speculation with all this information… but I’ll take it.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
NEW YORK -Oil prices edged modestly higher Friday as news of an [...]

Mary Ann Milbourn wrote an article that ended up on the OC Register today in regards to our rent for homes is going up.  Pay attention to the numbers you see below and now might be the time to take some action and get into a house with same payment as rent.  We all know [...]

Aaron Smith put an article together with CNNMoney today about our mortgage giants and there ability to survive.  They really are in a tough spot with all the weight of our mortgage meltdown on there back.  Due to the new government plans to allow access to much more capital than they had before.  Maybe that [...]

Tami Luhby of CNNMoney wrote an article about our governments rescue of Indymac bank.  The times are definitely tough right now with all of the decision being made about other people’s homes and money in the bank.  We finally get to see what the government is will due with 100% control of a bank and [...]

The MarketWatch put at story together with Rex Nutting on our home builders and how the market is affecting them.  Its tough right now to think about building another home when people won’t buy up what we already have available.  Most index’s don’t show any light at the end of the tunnel yet either… the [...]

Here is another story by the Associated Press and Tim Paradis on our stock market and its rollercoaster motions.  One day it flies and the other day it falls… if I only knew what to expect next.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
Stocks advance as drop in oil prices eases some concern about [...]

Jeannine Averasa of the Associated Press put a very much needed article together for our public.  She speaks of our Fed Chairman’s time on Capitol Hill in the hot seat.   All the information was not good, but not all was bad either.  The story goes as follows.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told [...]

Jeff Collins wrote an up lifting article for the Orange County Register about some of the true benefits of our real estate market.  The times where a police officers income couldn’t purchase a home is now gone.  The buyers time is here and who knows for how long… but I sure am glad to know [...]

Deborah Levine of Marketwatch put a story today on the map about the flip side of the coin with our mortgage giants and there buying powers.  It’s a good angle to pay attention too.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
Reaction to government’s move is a far cry from ‘depressed’ equity holders
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) [...]

Les Christie, a staff writer for CNNMoney put on article on the map about something I am a little tired speaking about.  It seems like we have the same story about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac down on capital everyday.  I am writing this story into the site because they speak of the other side [...]

Angela Potter put a great article out for the Orange County Register today on our gas prices affecting out economy and its traveling.  At first everyone started avoiding the long distance trips because the cost of getting to the destination was too much.  Now we are steering clear of taking the short trips to the [...]

A story was written today by Rex Nutting of the MarketWatch on the fine line our chairman is walking with the stressed economy on his back.  I think many would agree with me when I say nobody wants his job right now…  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
On the Hill, Fed chief can’t [...]

The writers over at Reuters put out a story this morning on the opening of our market this Monday after the crash of Indymac Bank.  I wasn’t really sure how it was going to affect our market trades but after listening this morning to all the news and business reporters about the issues I’m a [...]

I got an email today written by Damian Paletta and David Enrich of the Wall Street Journal about the seizure of the biggest bank in over 20 years.  I wasn’t very shocked to hear they went out of business, but I didn’t imagine it would be this bad for depositors currently with this bank.  This [...]

Charley Blaine and Elizabeth Strott wrote a strong story on MSN news today about our stock market and the punishment its taking.  Its starting to feel like there is no end to this mess we call financials.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
Crude oil surges on tensions from Iran and potential supply disruptions [...]

Todd Woddy, a senior editor for Fortune Magazine wrote on a topic that needs a lot more attention then its getting.  Our Solar powered options for home power is out there and ready for the taking.  Especially with our desert heat and sun beating down on us everyday in Southern California.  Its time to take [...]

Dawn Kopecki and Elizabeth Stanton with Bloomberg news wrote a powerful article on our financial marketplace today.  They speak of how involved our government wants to get in our mortgage meltdown by taking over the two big fish in the sea.  I’m not sure what impacts this will have for us in the long term, [...]

The Associated Press put this article together about our National Guard and there ability to help our firefighters in a time of need.  We can all learn a little something from our troops and firefighters in these moments of weakness.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
ALBION, Calif. – Sweat rolled down Lisa Mirander’s [...]

Tim Paradis, an Associated Press business writer put an article together on Yahoo.com about our very unstable marketplace.  The rollercoaster is continuing to give us a ride with some ups and large downs.  If we only knew what oil and financials were going to bring for us tomorrow… the beginning of the story goes as [...]

Dawn Kopecki, a writer for Bloomberg wrote a story today about our mortgage meltdown.  Some companies are just too big to be pushed around even in this tough market.  These two entities prove it time and time again… the beginning of the story goes as follows.
July 10 (Bloomberg) — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the [...]

Kate Gibson of Market Watch put an article on the map today about another bad day on Wallstreet.  This seems to be the trend lately with last minute shocks in the closing hours of the market.  If I only had the crystal ball to see what we could expect out of the rest of the [...]

Marc Lifsher of the LATimes wrote an article on a very important reduction on premiums with Allstate’s Homeowners policies.  I am not sure how many people are aware of this aggressive push Allstate is making to help our economy and its clients but they are definitely doing there part.  The beginning of the story goes [...]

Leva Augstums, a writer for the Associated Press put an article out in regards to Wachovia and its new Leader in this tough market.  It looks like everyone is getting ready for more losses in second half of year while preparing for future growth.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
Wachovia names Treasury undersecretary [...]

Steve Chawkins, Maria L. La Ganga and Francisco Vara-Orta all Staff Writers for Los Angeles Times put an article on the map today about our threatening fires in California.  This is the time of year when the fires start to show there face and prove how dry it really is here.  The beginning of the [...]

The TodayShow.com contributor Mike Celizic wrote an article about some of the mistakes we can make in the moment.  Barack Obama put his family on the air without thinking about the consequences of his actions for the children.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
Barack Obama said it was a mistake to allow his [...]

Dawn Kopecki and Bryan Keogh of Bloomberg wrote an article about the some of the strategies of our financial entities to keep them out of the red.  It doesn’t seem to have the effect on our market investors that they were hoping for but they are at least making moves to help out.  The beginning [...]

There was an article written by Alexandra Twin of CNNMoney.com on some of the pros in our stock market.  Here are some of the people looking at the glass half full in our current market conditions.  We should all step back and take a better look at the long term goals and see the benefits [...]

Scott Lanman of Bloomberg wrote an article about the Fed’s and the chess game they are playing with our unstable market.  It looks like every time we get one of the corner stones in the market to be a little stable another one starts to crash.  Just to think about the pressure on the financial [...]

A staff writer of CNNMoney.com (Ben Rooney) put an article together about our lasting problems in the real estate market.  The real estate rollercoaster continues the 2008 free fall even with the spike in May.  The beginning of the story goes as follows
Sign of continued trouble for housing: Number of existing homes under sales contract [...]

Amanda Gengler wrote an article for Money Magazine about the true focus everyone has on the real estate market and its problems.  Is the house going to help you retire? Or cause bigger problems…  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
Real estate was very good to this realtor-homeowner-landlord. Until it wasn’t.
(Money Magazine) — A [...]

Jody Shenn and Shannon D. Harrington wrote an article about are lack of capital in the mortgage industry.  These issues are important and I don’t know if there is any quick fix for the problems at hand.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
July 7 (Bloomberg) — Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae plunged in [...]

Ben Rooney of CNNMoney.com put an article out today about the hangover from last week in our financial market.  It was more like a bad day on a rollercoaster if you look at the graphs.  Looking at some of the market indicators being shown to us today it doesn’t look to be getting much better [...]

Jeanne Sahadi of CNNMoney.com wrote an article about some of the rescue attempts we are trying in the mortgage industry.  Some of these efforts are not quite enough to stop the market slump, but they do slow it down.  Right now I believe we should try everything in our arsenal to put our economy back [...]

The Associated Press put out an article with LA Times which is very real and something for all of us to think about.  We all know that our views on the situation over in Iraq differ from person to person.  But one thing I believe is certain, and that is our troops over in Iraq [...]

Catherine Clifford of CNNMoney.com wrote an article this morning about our interest rate clime over last couple weeks.  This is a topic that all of us need to be paying a little more attention to in the market we are in.  Rates have increased steadily from February on with a few dips in between.  The [...]

Sharon Lynch of Bloomberg put an article on the table today about our housing market in Southern California.  Just when we think there is light at the end of the tunnel we hear about something like this.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
July 2 (Bloomberg) — New foreclosures almost quadrupled in Los Angeles [...]

A story today in LATimes.com was written about a local bank here in Southern California.  Recently the bank has been put under a lot of pressure by the public with there lack of stability.  It seems to me that Indymac just can’t seem to shake off the market trouble.  The beginning of the story goes [...]

Les Christie of CNNMoney.com wrote an article I have been waiting a long time for.  The article talks about the prices reaching levels that you can purchase the home and rent them without losing money.  Investors fangs are starting to come out, and it’s just the beginning…  The story goes as follows.
Let the bargain hunting [...]

Eric Martin and Michael Patterson of Bloomberg wrote an article today showing the true volatility in our markets today.  There just isn’t much good news to be throwing around in our stock market.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
July 2 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks fell, sending the Dow Jones Industrial Average down almost [...]

Courtney Schlisserman of Bloomberg put an article together today about our marketplace and not everything is crashing with our real estate.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.   
July 1 (Bloomberg) — Manufacturing in the U.S. unexpectedly expanded in June for the first time in five months, signaling exports and the government rebate checks [...]

A CNNMoney.com staff writer by the name of David Ellis put an article together about the Banks and what’s ahead for them.  All of us hoping the worst is over and some analysts saying it might get worse.  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
After two particularly rough quarters, analysts predict more writedowns, dividend [...]

Martin Crutsinger of the Associated Press wrote an article today about the real estate market.  He speaks of the record high amounts of properties we have for sale which slows down all construction and there spending.  Some say the worst isn’t over yet…  The beginning of the story goes as follows.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Construction spending [...]