Housing

I said last week that people were in the mood to get some of the dastardly perpetrators of this housing fiasco. Washington and law enforcement officials around the U.S. are listening to the anger of their constituents and acting by going…

from Bloomberg News: Ambac Financial Group Inc., the world's second-biggest bond insurer, stopped trading on the New York Stock Exchange in a ``subpenny halt'' after its share price fell as low as $1.04. Ambac declined 3 cents, or 2.5…

New York City has held pretty well in this housing downturn to date. However, with money center banks reeling from the credit crisis, this has changed. Bloomberg reports sales in Manhattan falling 22% in the second quarter of 2008. Sales…

When lenders violate the U.S. federal lending disclosure laws, they may get stuck with the loan losses. This is the case now being argued before the courts in Wisconsin, with major implications on the number of cases to be filed and the…

According to the Wall Street Journal, Denmark has slipped into recession because of falling house prices. Denmark saw a fairly head rise in house prices during the bubble (58% appreciation from 1997-2005). Since that time, house prices…

Nationwide, the UK building society, announced today that house prices in the UK fell 0.9% in June. As the worry about the international credit crisis has expanded, the UK has moved centre stage in terms of concern over house prices. As…

From the Wall Street Journal: Florida Sues CountrywideThe Florida attorney general has filed a lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp. and its chief executive, Angelo Mozilo, alleging that the company engaged in deceptive and unfair…

I ran a short poll over the last week and the results are in. Readers at Credit Writedowns expect house prices in the U.S. to fall well in excess of 30%. From where I sit, this makes a lot of sense (I voted too: for a 30-50% fall). If…

Wow! I've heard of multi-year lows, but a 53-year low. That's painful. Look, let's not beat around the bush here. GM is in big trouble. They sell many products that people don't want anymore (gas guzzlers), their growth engine is…

The suits are piling up. Angelo Mozilo is looking like the new Ken Lay for Washington.California's attorney general has filed a civil lawsuit alleging that Countrywide Financial Corp. engaged in deceptive advertising and unfair…