NAHB Calls for Secondary Market for Construction Loans
April 17, 2008
Home builders, who have been feeling the squeeze on the selling side
of their business for months, are now reporting that they are caught in a
crunch on the development side as money for land
acquisition, development, and home construction is drying up.
Vacation and Investment Property Sales Strong Despite Market Troubles
April 17, 2008
Hundreds of thousands of American homeowners may be in desperate
straits, facing crippling rate resets or worse, foreclosure, but others
continued to purchase vacation homes and investment properties at
a healthy rate.
Fed's Fisher Maintains "Strong Reluctance" About Further Rate Cuts
April 17, 2008
Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, one of two Fed dissenters in the
last FOMC rate cut decision, said he has a “strong reluctance”
about further rate cuts.
Fed to Make New Credit Card Proposal, Says Braunstein
April 17, 2008
Speaking Thursday before the House Subcommittee on Financial
Institutions and Consumer Credit, Federal Reserve Division of Consumer
and Community Affairs Director Sandra Braunstein emphasized a need for
further consumer protection as it would pertain to
credit cards.
Merrill Lynch Reports First-Quarter Loss, Planned Job Cuts
April 17, 2008
Merrill Lynch & Company will eliminate 2,900 jobs as
it struggles to recover from its third consecutive quarterly loss which
it announced on Thursday.
Renters also May Not Find Decent and Affordable Housing
April 17, 2008
If the several million people facing foreclosure over the next
few years actually lose their homes, where are they going to go?
The conventional wisdom is that they will go back into the rental
market and perhaps that is one reason for the jump in permits and housing
starts for residential buildings over five units reported by the Census
Bureau the last few months. However, a study recently released by the
National Low Income Housing Coalition is questioning the affordability
of rental housing, not just in high priced locations, but virtually
everywhere in the country.
U.S. Initial Claims Rise 17k to 372k, Continuing Claims Gain
April 17, 2008
U.S. initial jobless claims came in lower than expected in the week
ending April 12 with a total of 372K seasonally adjusted claims filed,
representing a 4.8% rise from the week before, the Department of Labor
reported Thursday. Forecasts were looking for a total of 375k claims. The
previous week’s figure was revised downward to 355k from 357k.