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	<title>Stock Blog Hub &#187; FRE</title>
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		<title>(FNM) Case Schiller Home Price Index Shows U.S. Home Prices Rose in May</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/07/27/fnm-case-schiller-home-price-index-shows-u-s-home-prices-rose-in-may/45004</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/07/27/fnm-case-schiller-home-price-index-shows-u-s-home-prices-rose-in-may/45004#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 27 Jul 2010 18:34:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ETH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Housing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kroger Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGIC Investment Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PMI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PMI Group Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[The Home Depot]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=45004</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Case Schiller Home Price Indexes were generally higher in May. On a seasonally adjusted basis (and there is significant seasonality to home prices, so looking at the unadjusted numbers the way that most of the media does is a serious mistake) both the Composite 20 (C20) and Composite 10 (C10) indexes rose by 0.47% for the month. On a year-over-year basis, the C-20 is up 4.63% and the C10 is up 5.44%. The C10 is a subset of the C20, but has a longer history. The first graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows the history of the composite indexes. These are repeat sales indexes, tracking the prices of individual houses as they are resold. As such, they are a much more accurate measure than things like the median price of an ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/07/27/fnm-case-schiller-home-price-index-shows-u-s-home-prices-rose-in-may/45004/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(UDR) Real Estate Investment Trust Outlook &#8211; July 2010 &#8211; Industry Outlook</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/07/02/udr-real-estate-investment-trust-outlook-july-2010-industry-outlook/42186</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/07/02/udr-real-estate-investment-trust-outlook-july-2010-industry-outlook/42186#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:15:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[REIT - Residential]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AGNC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Capital Agency Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Macerich Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PLD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ProLogis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Simon Property Group Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SPG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UDR]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=42186</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The U.S. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry that witnessed two strong back-to-back performances in first quarter 2010 and fourth quarter 2009 somewhat lost its momentum in its fiscal 2010 second quarter. The FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index reported total returns of negative 3.05% in the second quarter, vs. a 12.5% and a 10.6% loss for the S&#38;P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrials, respectively. Although total returns as measured by the FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index remained well above the S&#38;P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrials, it declined drastically from 10.0% in the first quarter of 2010 and 9.4% in the fourth quarter of 2009. The lackluster performance of the FTSE NAREIT Equity Index is primarily attributable to broader stock-market concerns fueled by the European debt crisis, which ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/07/02/udr-real-estate-investment-trust-outlook-july-2010-industry-outlook/42186/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FNM) U.S. Housing Prices Mixed in March</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/25/fnm-u-s-housing-prices-mixed-in-march/38388</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/25/fnm-u-s-housing-prices-mixed-in-march/38388#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 May 2010 22:22:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Housing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase & Company]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=38388</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Case Schiller indexes showed that housing prices were mixed in March on a seasonally adjusted basis. Since there is a distinct seasonality to housing prices (they tend to go up in the spring and down in the winter), those are the numbers that should be focused on. Many of the press reports you will see will be based on the non-seasonally adjusted numbers. In March, the Composite 20 (C-20) index was down 0.05% from February, while a subset with a longer history, the Composite 10 (C-10) index posted a gain of 0.16%. Nine cities posted month-to-month gains while 11 saw declines on the month. Biggest Gainers Some of the biggest month-to-month gains were from California, where San Francisco led the pack with a gain of 1.49%, and San Diego ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/25/fnm-u-s-housing-prices-mixed-in-march/38388/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FNM) U.S. Employment Numbers Seem to Be Stalling</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/20/fnm-u-s-employment-numbers-seem-to-be-stalling/37861</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/20/fnm-u-s-employment-numbers-seem-to-be-stalling/37861#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 21 May 2010 05:48:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Employment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[M]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Macy's]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wal-Mart Stores Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WMT]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=37861</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance, or &#8220;initial jobless claims,&#8221; rose by 25,000 last week to 471,000, well by 27,000 if you count the fact that last week’s claims were revised up by 2,000. That caused the four-week moving average, which is considered to be a better measure given the week-to-week volatility in the numbers, to rise by 3,000 to 450,500. As the graph below shows, initial jobless claims fell sharply in the last three quarters of 2009 after reaching near record levels. However, since the start of 2010, the trend in initial jobless claims has been very erratic, and we seem to be stalled at around the current 450,000 on the four-week average. This pattern is beginning to resemble what happened in the last two recessions &#8212; a big initial ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/20/fnm-u-s-employment-numbers-seem-to-be-stalling/37861/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(JPM) U.S. Banks Stock Update &#8211; May 2010 &#8211; Industry Outlook</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/19/jpm-u-s-banks-stock-update-may-2010-industry-outlook/37702</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/19/jpm-u-s-banks-stock-update-may-2010-industry-outlook/37702#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 20 May 2010 00:28:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American International Group Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BancFirst Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bancorp Rhode Island Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BANF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of the Ozarks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BARI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BB & T Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BBT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BMTC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bryn Mawr Bank Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BSRR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cardinal Financial Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CBSH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Center Financial Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Central Valley Community Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CFNL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citigroup Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CLFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Commerce Bancshares Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CVCY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FBMI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FCBC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FFBC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fidelity Southern Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Financial Institutions Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[First Community Bancshares Inc (Bluefield)]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[First Financial BanCorporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Firstbank Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FISI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goldman Sachs Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HBNC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Horizon BanCorporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KEY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KeyCorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lakeland Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LBAI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Legacy Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LEGC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LION]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mainsource Financial Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MBT Financial Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MBTF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MBWM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MCBI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mercantile Bank Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Metrocorp Bancshares Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MidWest One Financial Group Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MOFG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Morgan Stanley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MSFG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NARA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Nara Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Valley Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NOVB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[OKSB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Old National BanCorporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ONB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[OZRK]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RBCAA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Republic Bancorp Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[S&T Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sierra Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Southwest Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SSBI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[STBA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summit State Bank]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TOFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tower Financial Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Us Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Viewpoint Financial Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VIST]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VIST Financial Corp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VPFG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WASH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Washington Banking Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Washington Trust Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WBCO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wells Fargo & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wilmington Trust Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ZION]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zions BanCorporation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=37702</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Although a major recovery in the asset markets has been witnessed in recent quarters, the outlook for the U.S. banking industry still remains in question due to several negatives Incorporatedluding asset-quality troubles, drawbacks of new regulations and the continuation of both residential and commercial real estate loan defaults. After enduring extraordinary shocks in 2008, the U.S. banks entered an exceptional state of turmoil in 2009. Starting as a credit issue in the subprime segment of the mortgage market, the situation affected about the entire financial services industry, in all corners of the globe. In other words, the financial crisis ultimately morphed into a massive economic crisis, which has had major ramifications across the whole world. Although the banking industry is dealing with liquidity and confidence challenges in 2010, it is ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/19/jpm-u-s-banks-stock-update-may-2010-industry-outlook/37702/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(AGNC) American Capital Agency to Offer Common Shares</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/17/agnc-american-capital-agency-to-offer-common-shares/37413</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/17/agnc-american-capital-agency-to-offer-common-shares/37413#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 17 May 2010 22:14:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[REIT - Residential]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AGNC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Capital Agency Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=37413</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[American Capital Agency Corp. (AGNC), a leading real estate investment trust (REIT), has recently announced plans to offer 6.0 million common shares at $25.75 each to raise cash. The company will also grant the underwriters an option to purchase an additional 0.9 million shares to cover any over-allotments. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, UBS Investment Bank, Citi, and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. are acting as joint book-running managers for the public offering. American Capital expects to raise total net proceeds of approximately $147 million, excluding the over-allotment options. The company intends to utilize the proceeds to acquire additional agency securities and for general corporate purposes. The shares fell $2.11 or 7.7% on the impact of the news to $25.43 in midday trading on Friday. American Capital invests only in fixed-rate ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/17/agnc-american-capital-agency-to-offer-common-shares/37413/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(BAC) Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Fell (Sort Of)</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/13/bac-initial-claims-for-unemployment-insurance-fell-sort-of/37109</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/13/bac-initial-claims-for-unemployment-insurance-fell-sort-of/37109#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 May 2010 20:46:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citigroup Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wal-Mart Stores Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WMT]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=37109</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance fell 4,000 in the last week to 444,000. However, last week’s numbers were revised up by 4,000, so in many respects they were unchanged. The four-week moving average declined by 9,000 to 450,500. There is a fair amount of volatility in the week-to-week numbers, and the four-week average helps sort out the noise from the real information. As the chart below shows, after peaking in April of 2009 above 650,000, the four-week average was on a steep decline until the end of the year. Since then the four-week average has hovered in a tight range between 440,000 and 470,000. This sharp initial decline, followed by a lengthy period of a high plateau, is reminiscent of the pattern that followed the recessions of 1991 and 2001, ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/13/bac-initial-claims-for-unemployment-insurance-fell-sort-of/37109/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(WMT) U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Bounce Down Again</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/06/wmt-u-s-initial-jobless-claims-bounce-down-again/36421</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/06/wmt-u-s-initial-jobless-claims-bounce-down-again/36421#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 06 May 2010 20:03:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Discount Variety Stores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kroger Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wal-Mart Stores Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WMT]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=36421</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As shown in the graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) after a big decline starting in April of last year, Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance have become extremely erratic. This week it was time for some good news, as claims fell by 7,000 to 444,000, although part of that is because last week&#8217;s numbers were revised upwards by 3,000, so in some ways it is more like a decline of 4,000. The four-week moving average, which smooths out some of the week-to-week volatility, (and which is what is shown in the graph) fell by 4,750 to 458,500. While this week’s decline is welcome news, it is really not good enough. To really indicate the economy is on-balance creating jobs at a healthy pace, we need to see the number below 425,000, and preferably below ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/05/06/wmt-u-s-initial-jobless-claims-bounce-down-again/36421/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(WMT) Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance Drop Down</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/04/29/wmt-initial-claims-for-unemployment-insurance-drop-down/35641</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/04/29/wmt-initial-claims-for-unemployment-insurance-drop-down/35641#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:11:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Discount Variety Stores]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Employment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kroger Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wal-Mart Stores Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WMT]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=35641</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As shown in the graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) after a big decline starting in April of last year, Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance have become extremely erratic. This week it was time for some good news as claims fell by 11,000 to 448,000, although part of that is because last week&#8217;s numbers were revised upwards by 3,000, so in some ways it is more like a decline of 8,000. The four-week moving average, which smooths out some of the week to week volatility (and which is what is shown in the graph) increased by 1,500 to 462,500. While this week’s decline is welcome news, it is really not good enough. To really indicate the economy is on-balance creating jobs at a healthy pace, we need to see the number below ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/04/29/wmt-initial-claims-for-unemployment-insurance-drop-down/35641/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(BAC) U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rise Again</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/04/15/bac-u-s-initial-jobless-claims-rise-again/33982</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/04/15/bac-u-s-initial-jobless-claims-rise-again/33982#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:27:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Employment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kroger Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGIC Investment Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTG]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=33982</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose sharply for the second straight week, rising 24,000 to 484,000. Just two weeks ago they were at 442,000.  The four-week moving average, which is generally considered a better measure given the week-to-week volatility in the numbers, also rose &#8212; up 7,500 to 457,750. To be sure, we are still in a much better situation on initial jobless claims than we were a year ago, when the four-week moving average was at 636,250, but the steady decline we saw starting from around a year ago that continued through the end of 2009 has turned very erratic so far in 2010. Following a Familiar Pattern? As the graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows, the pattern of initial jobless claims is beginning to look much more like the ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/04/15/bac-u-s-initial-jobless-claims-rise-again/33982/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FNM) U.S. Existing Home Sales Slip Slightly</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/03/27/rpm-u-s-existing-home-sales-slip-slightly/31566</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/03/27/rpm-u-s-existing-home-sales-slip-slightly/31566#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 27 Mar 2010 21:10:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General Building Materials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Industrial Goods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Berkshire Hathaway]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRKA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BRKB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ETH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ethan Allen Interiors Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RPM International Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sherwin-Williams Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SHW]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=31566</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Existing home sales fell by 0.6% (seasonally adjusted annual rate) to 5.02 million from a 5.05 million rate in January. This was just 7.0% above the extremely depressed rate of a year ago. However, it was slightly better than the consensus expectations of a 5.00 million rate. Existing home sales shot up in the fall as people thought that the “first-time buyer&#8221; tax credit was going to expire on them. The credit was not only extended at the last minute, but it was expanded to non-first-time buyers as well. To qualify for the extended tax credit, people must be under contract by the end of April and close by the end of June. As the first graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows, the extended tax credit has not packed nearly as ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/03/27/rpm-u-s-existing-home-sales-slip-slightly/31566/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(PMI) PMI Group Wins Freddie Mac Approval</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/03/25/pmi-pmi-group-wins-freddie-mac-approval/31710</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/03/25/pmi-pmi-group-wins-freddie-mac-approval/31710#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Mar 2010 00:18:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surety & Title Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGIC Investment Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PMI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PMI Group Inc.]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=31710</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[California-based PMI Group Inc.’s (PMI) principal operating subsidiary PMI Mortgage Insurance Co. (“MIC&#8221;), announced yesterday that it has won approval from Freddie Mac (FRE) for PMI Mortgage Assurance Co., (“PMAC&#8221;) to directly sell mortgage guaranty insurance in some states. The approval gives PMAC the right to sell insurance in states where PMI’s current mortgage operation doesn&#8217;t meet the minimum capital requirements. Last month, the mortgage insurer got approval from Fannie Mae (FNM) as a direct issuer of mortgage guaranty insurance. The unit also obtained a waiver to continue writing new mortgage insurance business, even if it falls below the capital requirements of the Arizona state regulator. The approval from Freddie Mac runs through Dec. 31, 2011. Mortgage insurers cover part of the loan amount lost by lenders when a home ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/03/25/pmi-pmi-group-wins-freddie-mac-approval/31710/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FNM) Federal Reserve Stays On Hold With Interest Rates &#8211; In-Depth</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/03/18/fnm-federal-reserve-stays-on-hold-with-interest-rates-in-depth/30881</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/03/18/fnm-federal-reserve-stays-on-hold-with-interest-rates-in-depth/30881#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:08:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inflation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=30881</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As expected, the Federal Reserve left the federal funds rate unchanged at its meeting today. Below, we present statements from the current meeting along with statements from the late January meeting, with my commentary and interpretation (translation?) interspersed on a paragraph by paragraph basis. &#8220;Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January suggests that economic activity has continued to strengthen and that the labor market is stabilizing. Household spending is expanding at a moderate rate but remains constrained by high unemployment, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. &#8220;Business spending on equipment and software has risen significantly. However, investment in nonresidential structures is declining, housing starts have been flat at a depressed level, and employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. &#8220;While bank lending continues ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/03/18/fnm-federal-reserve-stays-on-hold-with-interest-rates-in-depth/30881/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>($FRE) Freddie Mac&#8217;s Net Loss Widens</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/25/fre-freddie-macs-net-loss-widens/29021</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/25/fre-freddie-macs-net-loss-widens/29021#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 25 Feb 2010 23:16:24 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Housing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=29021</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Freddie Mac’s (FRE) fourth quarter net loss came in at $2.39 per share, substantially higher than the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 80 cents. This also compares unfavorably with a net loss of $2.06 in the prior quarter. Results for the quarter exclude the preferred dividend of $1.3 million paid to the U.S. Treasury on the senior preferred stock. With some early signs of stabilization in the housing market, Freddie Mac expects low mortgage rates, relatively high affordability and the homebuyer tax credit to help fuel the recovery in the upcoming quarters. Though provision for credit losses showed some improvement over the prior quarter, it remained at an elevated level as the credit market continued to deteriorate. For full year 2009, net loss narrowed to $25.7 billion or ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/25/fre-freddie-macs-net-loss-widens/29021/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FNM) Number of Homeowners Underwater Continues to Rise</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/24/fnm-number-of-homeowners-underwater-continues-to-rise/28887</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/24/fnm-number-of-homeowners-underwater-continues-to-rise/28887#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:48:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Housing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=28887</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[First American Core logic just released its report on the number of homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages. The storm waters continue to rise. In all, more than 11.3 million, or 24 percent, of all residential properties with mortgages, were underwater at the end of the fourth quarter of 2009, up from 10.7 million or 23 percent at the end of the third quarter of 2009. An additional 2.3 million mortgages were approaching negative equity at the end of last year, meaning they had less than five percent equity. Thus even though the Case Schiller indexes have been showing a slight rise in housing prices during the fourth quarter, an additional 600,000 homeowners slipped below the waves during the quarter. Here are the highlights of the report: “Negative equity ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/24/fnm-number-of-homeowners-underwater-continues-to-rise/28887/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>($FNM) Housing Prices Show Small Rise</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/23/fnm-housing-prices-show-small-rise/28802</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/23/fnm-housing-prices-show-small-rise/28802#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:05:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGIC Investment Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTG]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=28802</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Case-Schiller housing price indexes were released this morning, and both the Composite 10 (C-10) and the Composite 20 (C-20) showed monthly increases of 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis. Since there is a fair amount of seasonality in housing prices, the seasonally adjusted numbers are the ones to look at. On a year-over-year basis, the C-10 is down 2.4% and the C-20 is down 3.1%. From the peak, the C-10 is down 30.3% and the C-20 is off by 29.4%. The consensus expectation was that the C-20 would show a year-over-year decline of 3.1% in December, so the results were in line with expectations. The year-over-year decline in November was 5.3%. The first chart (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows the history of the year-over-year changes for both composites. The indexes first ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/23/fnm-housing-prices-show-small-rise/28802/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FNM) Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Exit Strategy</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/12/fnm-fed-chairman-ben-bernanke-on-exit-strategy/27752</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/12/fnm-fed-chairman-ben-bernanke-on-exit-strategy/27752#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:41:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Employment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inflation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=27752</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke was scheduled to testify on Capitol Hill this morning, but because the Capitol was frozen (by the weather, not just by filibusters) the hearing was cancelled. However, he did release his prepared testimony. In general, in his remarks about monetary policy, Bernanke addressed the &#8220;how&#8221; of draining the huge amount of liquidity added to the system over the last 18 months or so, but he did not address the &#8220;when.&#8221; The &#8220;when&#8221; really is the most important question. To my mind, the &#8220;when&#8221; should be a long time from now. The key problem facing this economy is not inflation, it is very low rates of resource utilization. To tighten monetary policy when the unemployment rate is at 9.7% and U.S. factories are only operating at 68.8% ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/12/fnm-fed-chairman-ben-bernanke-on-exit-strategy/27752/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(JPM) U.S. Banks Stock Update &#8211; February 2010 &#8211; Industry Outlook</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/03/jpm-u-s-banks-stock-update-february-2010-industry-outlook/26923</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/03/jpm-u-s-banks-stock-update-february-2010-industry-outlook/26923#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:12:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ABCB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Express Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American International Group Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ameris Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AXP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BancFirst Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BANF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of Hawaii Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BB & T Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BBNK]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BBT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BOH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bridge Capital Holdings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Capital One Financial Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cathay General Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CATY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CBSH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Central Valley Community Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citigroup Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Commerce Bancshares Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CVCY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Doral Financial Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DRL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FCVA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[First Capital Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goldman Sachs Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KEY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KeyCorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Morgan Stanley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[North Valley Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NOVB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[OKSB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Pacific Continental Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PCBK]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Southwest Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SSBI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Summit State Bank]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TCBI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tennessee Commerce Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Texas Capital BancShares Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TNCC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[UBSI]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[United Bankshares Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Us Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wells Fargo & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wilmington Trust Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ZION]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zions BanCorporation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=26923</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After enduring extraordinary shocks in 2008, the U.S. banks entered an exceptional state of turmoil in 2009. Starting as a credit issue in the subprime segment of the mortgage market, the sticky situation infected almost the entire financial services industry, and all corners of the globe. In other words, the financial crisis ultimately morphed into a massive economic crisis, which has had major ramifications across the whole world. Entering 2010, although the banking industry is dealing with liquidity and confidence challenges, it is now comparatively stable with financial support from the U.S. government. The government had taken several steps Incorporatedluding programs offering capital injections and debt guarantees, to stabilize the financial system. We believe that the worst of the credit crisis is now behind us. After more than a year ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/02/03/jpm-u-s-banks-stock-update-february-2010-industry-outlook/26923/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>($FRE) Mortgage Delinquencies Still Rising</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/29/fre-mortgage-delinquencies-still-rising/26387</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/29/fre-mortgage-delinquencies-still-rising/26387#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 30 Jan 2010 00:41:15 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlackRock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BLK]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wells Fargo & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WFC]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=26387</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Freddie Mac (FRE) reported that the serious single family delinquency rate for mortgages in its portfolio rose to 3.87% in December from 3.72% in November, an increase of 15 basis points. Serious delinquencies are mortgages where the homeowner is more than 90 days behind on their payments, but have not yet been foreclosed on. The serious delinquency rate rose in every month of 2009 (and every month in 2008, for that matter). A year ago the rate stood at 1.72%, at its low point in the first half of 2007, it was well below 50 basis points, so we have seen a nine-fold increase off the bottom and more than a doubling in the serious delinquency rate over the last year. Any Silver Lining? If there is any good news ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/29/fre-mortgage-delinquencies-still-rising/26387/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>($FNM) Wall Street’s Greed: How to End Big Banks’ Grip on the U.S. Economy</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/27/fnm-wall-street%e2%80%99s-greed-how-to-end-big-banks%e2%80%99-grip-on-the-u-s-economy/26211</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/27/fnm-wall-street%e2%80%99s-greed-how-to-end-big-banks%e2%80%99-grip-on-the-u-s-economy/26211#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 28 Jan 2010 01:47:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>InvestmentU</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Scientific & Technical Instruments]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=26211</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Guest Editorial by Shah Gilani, Contributing Editor, Money Morning Wednesday, January 27, 2010: Issue #1184 The Founding Fathers’ worst fears have come true. When they settled in America 234 years ago, they were afraid of any concentration of power in the republic. They were particularly afraid that banking interests could hijack our fledgling democracy. Today, Wall Street’s stranglehold on the economy threatens our very prosperity – and the future of a truly democratic republic. It’s time we address the truth about Wall Street’s greed and set a course for a more secure economic future – one anchored by a safe banking system, not a system rigged by banks… The Unintended Consequences of Wall Street’s Greed The credit crisis and “Great Recession” are the unintended consequences of Wall Street’s greed. I ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/27/fnm-wall-street%e2%80%99s-greed-how-to-end-big-banks%e2%80%99-grip-on-the-u-s-economy/26211/feed</wfw:commentRss>
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		<title>(CS) Case Schiller Indexes Show Home Prices Edge Up</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/26/cs-case-schiller-indexes-show-home-prices-edge-up/26062</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/26/cs-case-schiller-indexes-show-home-prices-edge-up/26062#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:33:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Foreign Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BlackRock]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BLK]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Suisse Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inflation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGIC Investment Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Tesoro Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[TSO]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=26062</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In November, housing prices increased by 0.24% on a seasonally adjusted basis for both the Case Schiller (CS) Composite 10 (CS-10) and Composite 20 (CS-20) city indexes. The CS indexes are considered the gold standard of housing price indexes, and track actual repeat sales, and are thus not influenced by mix changes the way that median prices can be. Over the last year, the CS-10 is down 4.5% while the CS-20 is down 5.3%. However, prices appear to have bottomed out for both measures in May and the C-10 is now up 3.76% and the C-20 is 3.38% off the bottom. While such improvement is encouraging, it will be a very long time before housing prices get back to their April 2006 peak levels. The C-10 index is now 30.4% ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/26/cs-case-schiller-indexes-show-home-prices-edge-up/26062/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>(SHW) Existing Homes Sales Plunge</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/25/shw-existing-homes-sales-plunge/25904</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/25/shw-existing-homes-sales-plunge/25904#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:23:43 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Basic Materials]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Chemicals - Major Diversified]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGIC Investment Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sherwin-Williams Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SHW]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=25904</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The National Association of Realtors reported this morning that in December Existing Homes Sales plunged 16.7% from November, to an annual rate of 5.45 million. That rate was, however, 15.0% below the extremely depressed 4.74 million rate in December 2008. While inventories also dropped (as is seasonally normal), falling 6.6% on the month and down 11.1% year over year, the bigger drop in sales meant the months of supply on the market increased to 7.2 months from 6.5 months in November. There are currently 3.29 million existing houses for sale in the county, down from a peak of 4.58 million in July 2008. So we are seeing some progress if one steps back and looks at the longer-term picture. The other good news is that the median price of a ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/25/shw-existing-homes-sales-plunge/25904/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>(AGNC) REIT Outlook &amp; Stock Review &#8211; January 2010 &#8211; Industry Outlook</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/25/agnc-reit-outlook-stock-review-january-2010-industry-outlook/25917</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/25/agnc-reit-outlook-stock-review-january-2010-industry-outlook/25917#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 25 Jan 2010 20:23:12 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[REIT - Residential]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AGNC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Capital Agency Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DDR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Developers Diversified Realty Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[REG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Regency Centers Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Simon Property Group Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SPG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VNO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vornado Realty Trust]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=25917</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Real Estate Investment Trusts The U.S. Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry registered a strong recovery and year-end performance in 2009. The FTSE NAREIT Equity REIT Index reported total returns of 27.99% in 2009, vs. a 26.46% and 18.82% gain for the S&#38;P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrials, respectively. The strong performance of the FTSE NAREIT Equity Index was primarily attributed to the influx of fresh capital through secondary equity offerings and asset sales. REITs and REOCs (Real Estate Operating Companies) raised nearly $38 billion in 2009 in an industry-wide push to recapitalize balance sheets, and over 90 secondary equity offerings were issued in addition to 37 unsecured debt offerings. During the fourth quarter of 2009, total returns for the FTSE NAREIT Equity Index was 9.39%, vs. a 5.5% ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/25/agnc-reit-outlook-stock-review-january-2010-industry-outlook/25917/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>(MTG) MGIC Investment Corporation Sees Rating Action</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/19/mtg-mgic-investment-corporation-sees-rating-action/25250</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/19/mtg-mgic-investment-corporation-sees-rating-action/25250#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:13:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Surety & Title Insurance]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGIC Investment Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTG]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=25250</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week, rating agency Fitch withdrew its long-term issuer rating “B-“ of MGIC Investment Corp. (MTG) along with withdrawing the “BB-“ insurer financial strength rating of its subsidiary, Mortgage Guaranty Investment Corp. The rating agency also pulled back the rating on MGIC’s senior notes and convertible junior subordinated debentures. Back in July, Fitch had downgraded MGIC’s rating following the company’s announcement of its business restructuring. After suffering terribly from the rising delinquencies due to the housing crisis, MGIC announced in July to capitalize its subsidiary Mortgage Guaranty Indemnity which would write new mortgage insurance policies. However, the rating agency considers twin effects of the restructuring. Although the process will drain the parent company’s capital levels rendering it restricted to pay claims, it will enable the newly funded company to write ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/19/mtg-mgic-investment-corporation-sees-rating-action/25250/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>(JPM) JPMorgan Chase &amp; Company Adds 24 Mortgage Centers</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/14/jpm-jpmorgan-chase-company-adds-24-mortgage-centers/25057</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/14/jpm-jpmorgan-chase-company-adds-24-mortgage-centers/25057#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 15 Jan 2010 04:55:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase & Company]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=25057</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In an effort to extend its helping hand toward struggling homeowners who have to make their mortgage payments, JPMorgan Chase &#38; Company (JPM) said on Monday that it is almost doubling its nationwide network by adding 24 more Chase Homeownership Centers Incorporatedluding one in Dallas. The 27 existing centers of JPMorgan have already served 60,000 struggling families who have to make monthly mortgage payments. The new additions will take the total number of JPMorgan mortgage assistance centers to 51 in 14 states and Washington D.C. JPMorgan will open six of the new 24 mortgage assistance centers in markets that have been hit hard by the housing and economic downturns and currently don&#8217;t have a center. The other 18 new centers will supplement markets that already have centers. In 2009, JPMorgan ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/14/jpm-jpmorgan-chase-company-adds-24-mortgage-centers/25057/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>($FNM) Federal Reserve Paid $46.1Billion to Treasury in 2009</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/13/fnm-federal-reserve-paid-46-1billion-to-treasury-in-2009/24843</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/13/fnm-federal-reserve-paid-46-1billion-to-treasury-in-2009/24843#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:42:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American International Group Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=24843</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Federal Reserve paid a record $46.1 billion in profits for 2009 to the U.S. Treasury as the central bank earned a record net income of $52.1 billion, up 46.8% year-over-year by exposing taxpayer money to risk in an effort to stabilize the financial system last year. The payment represents an increase of $14.4 billion from the Treasury’s contribution in 2008 and is the largest since the U.S. central bank was launched in 1914. The increase was largely due to higher earnings on securities that the Fed had purchased as part of its intensive intervention in the financial system last year. Previously, the largest payment to the Treasury was $34.6 billion in 2007. According to the Fed, much of its income came from the open-market purchase of U.S. Treasury debt, ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/13/fnm-federal-reserve-paid-46-1billion-to-treasury-in-2009/24843/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>(FNM) Housing and Rental Data</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/08/fnm-housing-and-rental-data/24454</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/08/fnm-housing-and-rental-data/24454#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:29:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIV]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Apartment Investment & Management Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[EQR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Equity Residential]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=24454</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Many of the government efforts to help the housing market, such as the Fed buying up fully one quarter of all the mortgage-backed securities backed by Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and Ginnie Mae, as well as the “first time&#8221; homebuyer tax credit, are designed to move people from being renters to being owners. But while there are some ancillary benefits to neighborhoods of most people owning rather than renting, it really does not solve the problem. What it does is cause there to be a lot of vacant apartments. In addition, a large number of formerly foreclosed-upon houses have been bought up by cash investors who plan on renting out those houses rather than living in them themselves. The net result is that there is a glut of ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/08/fnm-housing-and-rental-data/24454/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>(C) Looking Ahead to a Decade of Zeroes</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/05/c-looking-ahead-to-a-decade-of-zeroes/24123</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/05/c-looking-ahead-to-a-decade-of-zeroes/24123#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:58:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citigroup Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=24123</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A decade ago when the ball fell in Times Square, there was an enormous sense of both optimism about the future and relief that the world did not come to an end. I’m not talking about some sort of round-figure Armageddon, but the much more real fear back then that all the computers in the world would stop working as their internal calendars would not be able to handle the year 2000. That potential problem was very well telegraphed, and led to a huge amount of spending in the Tech sector to try to avoid it. It provided the final few pumps to the Tech bubble that was already well under way due to enthusiasm about a revolutionary new technology, the Internet. The enthusiasm proved to be way overdone, even ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2010/01/05/c-looking-ahead-to-a-decade-of-zeroes/24123/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>(FNM) Pay Czar Says Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Are Being Discriminated Against</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/31/fnm-pay-czar-says-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-are-being-discriminated-against/24002</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/31/fnm-pay-czar-says-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-are-being-discriminated-against/24002#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:33:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=24002</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[U.S. pay czar Kenneth Feinberg said on Wednesday that mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) are being discriminated, with respect to pay restrictions, from other companies receiving significant financial support from the government as they countenance a unique set of problems. The pay czar, who decides compensation-packages for the highest-paid employees at all the firms that received bailout money and have not repaid yet, considers the situation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac unique as the future of these companies is uncertain. After slashing 50% pay of the top 25 earners in October at seven firms that have received substantial support from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), earlier this month, the pay czar announced a new set of pay restrictions on top executives at four ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/31/fnm-pay-czar-says-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-are-being-discriminated-against/24002/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>(BAC) Report Shows Initial Jobless Claims Still Falling</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/31/bac-report-shows-initial-jobless-claims-still-falling/24013</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/31/bac-report-shows-initial-jobless-claims-still-falling/24013#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:25:40 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Employment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kroger Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wal-Mart Stores Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WMT]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=24013</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Initial claims for unemployment insurance continued their descent this week, falling by 22,000 to 432,000. This was well below consensus expectations of 460,000 new claims. The 4-week moving average also fell, but not as sharply, down 5,500 to 460,250. Given the inherent week-to-week instability of the series, the 4-week moving average is a better measure to watch, and the history of it is shown in the graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/). On the continuing claims front, the news was more mixed. Regular continuing claims, which are paid by the states and which run out after 26 weeks, fell by 57,000 to 4.981 million. However, in November, over 38% of all people who were unemployed had been out of work for more than 26 weeks. Thus the regular continuing claims data give ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/31/bac-report-shows-initial-jobless-claims-still-falling/24013/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>(FNM) Mortgage Giants Fannie Mae &amp; Freddie Mac Find Support</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/28/fnm-mortgage-giants-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-find-support/23699</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/28/fnm-mortgage-giants-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-find-support/23699#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:03:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=23699</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The U.S. Treasury announced late last week that it would offer significant new financial support to the stressed mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), notwithstanding their performances for the next 3 years. This move by the Fed follows the recent repayment of bailout money by the nation’s biggest financial institutions. To keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac afloat, the Treasury has removed the $200 billion caps on the capital availability of both companies. Already, taxpayers have provided $111 billion to them. According to the Treasury, losses for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not expected to exceed the government&#8217;s estimate of $170 billion over 10 years. Uncapped access to bailout funds through 2012 is necessary to protect the strength and stability of the U.S. mortgage market, the ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/28/fnm-mortgage-giants-fannie-mae-freddie-mac-find-support/23699/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>(FRE) Freddie Mac Suspends Evictions</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/18/fre-freddie-mac-suspends-evictions/23209</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/18/fre-freddie-mac-suspends-evictions/23209#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 19 Dec 2009 00:07:17 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citigroup Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=23209</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Freddie Mac (FRE) said on Thursday that it has ordered the suspension of all evictions involving occupied single family and 2-4 unit properties that have been foreclosed and had Freddie Mac-owned mortgages for about two weeks during the holiday season. The period of suspension will be from Dec 19, 2009 to Jan 3, 2010. Freddie did not estimate how many homeowners would get this grace period. Concurrently, another mortgage finance company Fannie Mae (FNM) is also suspending foreclosures and evictions for about two weeks. Earlier on the same day, Citigroup Inc. (C) also announced a 30-day suspension of foreclosures and evictions, affecting about 4,000 borrowers. Freddie Mac’s third quarter net loss came in at $1.94 per share, compared to a net loss of 11 cents in the prior quarter and ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/18/fre-freddie-mac-suspends-evictions/23209/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(JPM) JPMorgan Chase &amp; Company Adds More Mortgage Centers</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/17/jpm-jpmorgan-chase-company-adds-more-mortgage-centers/23091</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/17/jpm-jpmorgan-chase-company-adds-more-mortgage-centers/23091#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:43:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase & Company]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=23091</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase &#38; Company (JPM) said on Wednesday that it will substantially increase its nationwide network by adding 24 more Chase Homeownership Centers to help homeowners who are at risk of mortgage payments. The company intends to open the mortgage assistance centers in the next four months. That will take the total number of Chase mortgage assistance centers to 51 in 14 states and Washington D.C. Chase will open six of the new 24 mortgage assistance centers in markets that have been hit hard by the housing and economic downturns and currently don’t have a center. The six markets are: Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale, and Seattle. The other 18 new centers will supplement markets that already have centers. Borrowers can access the centers six days a week. ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/17/jpm-jpmorgan-chase-company-adds-more-mortgage-centers/23091/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FNM) No Rate Change at the Federal Reserve</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/16/fnm-no-rate-change-at-the-federal-reserve/23021</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/16/fnm-no-rate-change-at-the-federal-reserve/23021#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:08:30 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[inflation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=23021</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Fed just wrapped up its last FOMC meeting of the year, and as expected it did not change the fed funds rate. The policy statement was substantially the same as the one they released after the last meeting in early November. While the Fed Funds rate is not going up anytime soon, the Fed looks like it is ending the loosening programs that went above and beyond a 0% short-term interest rate. My reaction and translation follows each matched paragraph. Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November suggests that economic activity has continued to pick up and that the deterioration in the labor market is abating. The housing sector has shown some signs of improvement over recent months. Household spending appears to be expanding at ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/16/fnm-no-rate-change-at-the-federal-reserve/23021/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>($JPM) Total Debt in Economy Growing Slower</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/11/jpm-total-debt-in-economy-growing-slower/22638</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/11/jpm-total-debt-in-economy-growing-slower/22638#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:30:07 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wells Fargo & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WFC]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=22638</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday,  the Federal Reserve released its Flow of Funds report for the third quarter. This is the best overall tabulation of the total amount of debt in the economy. It looks at only non-financial debt; the debt taken on by banks like J.P. Morgan (JPM) or Wells Fargo (WFC) is normally used to lend out to other parts of the economy. Thus Incorporatedluding it would result in serious double counting. The picture that emerges is very interesting. Overall it shows that the level of debt growth in the country has slowed recently, but is still growing. This is happening despite the huge rise in federal debt. In the third quarter, total debt in the economy grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.8%, down from 4.5% in the second ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/12/11/jpm-total-debt-in-economy-growing-slower/22638/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(CT) Avoid Regional Domestic Banks &#8211; Zacks Industry Rank Analysis</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/28/ct-avoid-regional-domestic-banks-zacks-industry-rank-analysis/21414</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/28/ct-avoid-regional-domestic-banks-zacks-industry-rank-analysis/21414#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:46:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Property Management]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Banco Bradesco S.A.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Banco Santander-Chile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BBD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Capital Trust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Credit Suisse Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Deutsche Bank AG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Glimcher Realty Trust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GRT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PEBO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Peoples Bancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Privatebancorp Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PVTB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Ramco-Gershenson Properties Trust]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[RPT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SAN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SBIB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sterling Bancshares Inc]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=21414</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Industry Rank Analysis 11-25-09 Commercial real estate is in big trouble, with rising vacancy rates leading to lower effective rents. On top of that, the Cap rate, which is sort of like the P/E ratio for stocks (or to be more precise, like the E/P or earnings yield for stocks), has been rising, meaning that investors are willing to pay less for each dollar of operating earnings. Moody’s recently estimated that commercial real estate values are now 43% below peak levels. This has weighed heavily on the real estate-related industries, and the Zacks Industry Ranks reflect those troubles. Out of 206 industries that we follow, Real Estate Operations now rank 180, with an average Zacks Rank of its constituents of 3.31. The ranks range from 1-5; Zacks #1 Rank stocks ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/28/ct-avoid-regional-domestic-banks-zacks-industry-rank-analysis/21414/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FNM) Third Quarter GDP Growth Revised to 2.8%</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/25/fnm-third-quarter-gdp-growth-revised-to-2-8/21236</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/25/fnm-third-quarter-gdp-growth-revised-to-2-8/21236#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:36:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citigroup Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=21236</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This is a revision to the post I put up when the first cut at the GDP report came out on 10/30.  In it the new numbers are in bold and the original estimates are put in parentheses, thus a number in parentheses does not mean that it has a negative value (those will have a minus sign in front of them, numbers relating to the first or second quarters are left unchanged.  New text will be in italics. This should give the reader a clear sense of not only how strong GDP and its components, but also how the latest numbers match up. The recession is over! In the third quarter GDP grew by 2.8% (3.5%), slightly below (comfortably ahead) of expectations for 2.9% (3.0%) growth. This is a ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/25/fnm-third-quarter-gdp-growth-revised-to-2-8/21236/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(BAC) Home Prices Continue to Rise</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/25/bac-home-prices-continue-to-rise/21245</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/25/bac-home-prices-continue-to-rise/21245#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:35:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGIC Investment Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTG]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=21245</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning the S&#38;P Case-Schiller index was released. The Composite 20 index (C-20), which covers 20 of the largest metropolitan areas in the country rose by 0.27% on a seasonally adjusted basis (home prices are seasonal, so the adjusted data is what you should be looking at &#8212; most of the press makes a mistake by focusing on the unadjusted data, thus these figures might vary from what you read elsewhere). That was the fourth straight increase. The Composite 10 (C-10) index, which is a subset of the Composite 20, but which has a longer history, posted a 0.36% increase for the month. On a year over year basis, the C-20 is down by 9.39% while the C-10 is down 8.53%. While it was an increase, it was a smaller ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/25/bac-home-prices-continue-to-rise/21245/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FNM) Existing Home Sales Soar Again</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/23/fnm-existing-home-sales-soar-again/21136</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/23/fnm-existing-home-sales-soar-again/21136#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:49:52 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[La-Z-Boy Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LZB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sherwin-Williams Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SHW]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=21136</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In October, existing home sales rose by 10.1% and are now 23.5% above the year-ago rate. Sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.10 million, up from 5.54% in September and a 4.94 million pace a year ago. Existing single family home sales rose by 9.7% to a 5.33 million pace, while condo sales soared by 13.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000. Sales have been greatly aided by the &#8220;first time&#8221; homebuyer tax credit, which while eventually extended and expanded, for most of the month looked like was about to expire. Thus, in October people were scrambling to try to get in under the wire. This is the fifth straight month that existing home sales have exceeded year-ago levels. Even more impressive is the fact ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/23/fnm-existing-home-sales-soar-again/21136/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>($BAC) Mortgage Bankers Association Reports Mortgage Delinquencies at Record High</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/19/bac-mortgage-bankers-association-reports-mortgage-delinquencies-at-record-high/20958</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/19/bac-mortgage-bankers-association-reports-mortgage-delinquencies-at-record-high/20958#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:10:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Education & Training Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MGIC Investment Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MTG]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=20958</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported today that mortgage delinquencies hit a record high in the third quarter: &#8220;The delinquency rate for mortgage loans on one-to-four-unit residential properties rose to a seasonally adjusted rate of 9.64 percent of all loans outstanding as of the end of the third quarter of 2009, up 40 basis points from the second quarter of 2009, and up 265 basis points from one year ago, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA) National Delinquency Survey. The non-seasonally adjusted delinquency rate increased 108 basis points from 8.86 percent in the second quarter of 2009 to 9.94 percent this quarter.&#8221; (For more, click here.) Unlike the TransUnion report that came out yesterday, the definition of being delinquent is a bit more expansive in this report, covering all ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/19/bac-mortgage-bankers-association-reports-mortgage-delinquencies-at-record-high/20958/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(BAC) Mortgage Delinquencies Still Rising</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/17/bac-mortgage-delinquencies-still-rising/20793</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/17/bac-mortgage-delinquencies-still-rising/20793#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:16:37 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[economy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wells Fargo & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WFC]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=20793</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[This morning Trans Union, the big credit bureau, released its quarterly report on mortgage delinquencies, and it was not pretty. Nationwide, 6.25% of all residential mortgages were at least 60 days past due in the third quarter, up from 5.81% in the second quarter and 3.96% a year ago. This was the 11th straight quarter that delinquencies increased. Mortgage delinquencies are the first step in a house eventually going into foreclosure, so look for those to start heading up again. Foreclosures have been held down by trial modifications under the HEMP program, but very few of those have gotten to the stage of being final modifications. And even when mortgages are modified, there is a strong tendency for those people to again find themselves in financial trouble. Clearly people not ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/17/bac-mortgage-delinquencies-still-rising/20793/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(FRE) Freddie Mac Gets Boost From Government Program</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/10/fre-freddie-mac-gets-boost-from-government-program/20187</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/10/fre-freddie-mac-gets-boost-from-government-program/20187#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:02:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=20187</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Freddie Mac’s (FRE) third quarter net loss (available to common shareholders) came in at $1.94 per share, compared to a net loss of 11 cents in the prior quarter and $19.44 in the prior-year quarter. Results for the quarter exclude the preferred dividend of $1.3 million paid to the U.S. Department of the Treasury on the senior preferred stock. Though the results improved significantly over the prior-year quarter, the company expects its provision for credit losses to remain high during the fourth quarter of 2009. The company is mainly focused on initiatives that support the Making Home Affordable Program (MHA Program) announced by the Obama Administration in February 2009. As a leading player, Freddie Mac continued to support the housing market during the third quarter of 2009, enabling more than ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/10/fre-freddie-mac-gets-boost-from-government-program/20187/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(HCN) Health Care REIT Inc&#8217;s Funds From Operations Plummets</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/08/hcn-health-care-reit-incs-funds-from-operations-plummets/19798</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/08/hcn-health-care-reit-incs-funds-from-operations-plummets/19798#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Nov 2009 02:36:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[REIT - Healthcare Facilities]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[HCN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health Care REIT Inc]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=19798</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Health Care REIT Inc. (HCN), a real estate investment trust (REIT) that operates senior housing and health care real estate, has reported dismal third quarter 2009 results with FFO (fund from operations) of 53 cents per share compared to 85 cents in the year-earlier quarter. Fund from operations, a widely used metric to gauge the performance of REITs, is obtained after adding depreciation and amortization and other non-cash expenses to net income. The year-over-year decrease in FFO was due to the loss on extinguishment of debts and impairment charges totaling 25 cents per share. Excluding one-time charges, FFO for the quarter was 77 cents per share compared to 86 cents in the year-ago period. During the quarter, Health Care completed $156.3 million of gross new investments in large senior housing ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/08/hcn-health-care-reit-incs-funds-from-operations-plummets/19798/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(KELYA) Economy Produces Weak Employment Report</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/07/kelya-economy-produces-weak-employment-report/19873</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/07/kelya-economy-produces-weak-employment-report/19873#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:09:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Staffing & Outsourcing Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Abercrombie & Fitch Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ANF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kelly Services Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KELYA]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=19873</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The October employment report came in weaker than expected as the country lost 190,000 jobs, rather than the 175,000 expectation. It was, however, an improvement over the 219,000 lost in September, but worse than the 154,000 jobs lost in August. Both the September and August job losses were revised sharply lower. As of last month it was thought that we lost 263,000 jobs in September and 201,000 in August. So in that context, missing expectations for October by 15,000 does not seem that bad. Of course, it is bad if you happen to be one of those losing your job. Based on the establishment survey we have now lost 7.3 million jobs since the recession started. In general though, the pace of job losses has been slowing, especially if you ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/07/kelya-economy-produces-weak-employment-report/19873/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(AXP) More Information on Unemployment Duration</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/07/axp-more-information-on-unemployment-duration/19887</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/07/axp-more-information-on-unemployment-duration/19887#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:08:13 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Express Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AXP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WAG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Walgreen Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wells Fargo & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WFC]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=19887</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While I touched on unemployment duration at the end of my last blog, this is a very important subject and deserves a bit more elaboration. Quite simply being out of work for three or four weeks is a very different experience with very different economic implications than being out of work for six months to a year or more. The focus on the total number of unemployed obscures that reality. The thing that makes this recession so much different than the ones that have gone before it is how long people are staying out of work once they become unemployed. Yeah if you get laid off for a few weeks, it can be a pain in the butt, but essentially it is just an unplanned vacation. It does not really ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/07/axp-more-information-on-unemployment-duration/19887/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>(FNM) The Fed Stays on Easy Street</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/04/fnm-the-fed-stays-on-easy-street/19690</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/04/fnm-the-fed-stays-on-easy-street/19690#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:26:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Mortgage Investment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citigroup Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DIA]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GLD]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[QQQQ]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SPY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USO]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=19690</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Federal Reserve decided to keep the Federal Funds rate unchanged at the meeting it concluded today, as expected. Below is the current Fed Statement along with the one from their September meeting in paragraph-by-paragraph format, with my translation and commentary interspersed. As the graph below shows, the market is expecting the Fed to remain on hold, with Fed Funds between 0 and 25 basis points for an extended period. The graph shows the expected outcomes for the January meeting (before today’s announcement) from the Cleveland Fed. The market set the odds of anything other than standing pat at either today’s meeting or the December meeting effectively at zero. Reading off the chart, it looks like about a 95% probability of no action in January as well. I doubt we ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/11/04/fnm-the-fed-stays-on-easy-street/19690/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>(BZH) New Home Sales Sink &#8211; Credit Rising</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/28/bzh-new-home-sales-sink-credit-rising/19051</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/28/bzh-new-home-sales-sink-credit-rising/19051#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:27:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Industrial Goods]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Residential Construction]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Beazer Homes USA Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BZH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[LEN]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Lennar Corporation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=19051</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In distinct contrast to the existing home sales report last week, new home sales were ugly in September, falling 3.6% for the month and down 7.8% year over year. The seasonally adjusted annual rate in September was 402.000 down from 417,000 in August, which was revised down from the originally reported 429,000. This came in well below consensus expectations of 440,000. The good news in the report was that inventories also continued to decline, to 251,000 from 261,000 in August (down 3.8%) and from 395,000 a year ago (down 36.5%). That kept the months of supply metric even at 7.5 months, a big improvement over the 10.9 months of a year ago, and the scary peak of 12.4 months in January. There is a distinct seasonal pattern to new home ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/28/bzh-new-home-sales-sink-credit-rising/19051/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>(AGNC) Real Estate Investment Trusts &#8211; Positive Signals From Housing Market</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/22/agnc-real-estate-investment-trusts-positive-signals-from-housing-market/18547</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/22/agnc-real-estate-investment-trusts-positive-signals-from-housing-market/18547#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:23:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[REIT - Residential]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AGNC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Capital Agency Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[DDR]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Developers Diversified Realty Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Post Properties Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[PPS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Simon Property Group Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[SPG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[VNO]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Vornado Realty Trust]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=18547</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Amid positive signals emanating from the uptick in housing prices and an improving outlook for consumer spending, the housing sector is gradually stabilizing. Both new and existing home sales have increased during the last four consecutive months and are now 32% and 17% above their recent lows, respectively. Single-family housing starts have also risen 37% from their low point, and inventories of homes-for-sale have fallen sharply. Equity REITs rebounded nicely in the third quarter, recording total returns of 33% (total return FTSE NAREIT Index) vs. a 15% gain each for the S&#38;P and the Dow. The strong third quarter returns marked the second consecutive record-setting performance of equity REITs after a dismal performance in the first quarter of 2009. In what has been a volatile year, equity REITs gained approximately ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/22/agnc-real-estate-investment-trusts-positive-signals-from-housing-market/18547/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>(CIT) A Rarity: The Small-Business Loan</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/14/cit-a-rarity-the-small-business-loan/17579</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/14/cit-a-rarity-the-small-business-loan/17579#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:39:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Credit Services]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CIT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CIT Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=17579</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Today&#8217;s New York Times has an excellent article on the difficulty that small businesses are still having in getting loans. While the capital markets have freed up, and as a result larger firms are able to tap the capital markets for bonds and commercial paper, small businesses cannot do that. For very small businesses, the main sources of credit &#8212; home equity loans and credit cards &#8211; are drying up. Now it looks like one of the biggest lenders to slightly larger firms, CIT Group (CIT) is on the brink of failure. The length and depth of the recession has made many small businesses less credit worthy, and banks are being extremely cautious. This looks like it could be another reason that the labor market is going to stay weak for some time ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/14/cit-a-rarity-the-small-business-loan/17579/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>($JPM) U.S. Bank Industry Reviewed &#8211; Analyst Interview</title>
		<link>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/14/jpm-u-s-bank-industry-reviewed-analyst-interview/17616</link>
		<comments>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/14/jpm-u-s-bank-industry-reviewed-analyst-interview/17616#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:24:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>vitalstocks</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Money Center Banks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AIG]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American Express Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[American International Group Inc]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[AXP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BAC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Bank of America Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BB & T Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[BBT]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[C]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Capital One Financial Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[CBSH]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Citigroup Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[COF]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Commerce Bancshares Inc.]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fannie Mae]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FNM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[FRE]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Freddie Mac]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Goldman Sachs Group]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[GS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPM]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JPMorgan Chase & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KEY]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[KeyCorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Morgan Stanley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[MS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Us Bancorp]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[USB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wells Fargo & Company]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WFC]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wilmington Trust Corporation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[WL]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[ZION]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Zions BanCorporation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.stockbloghub.com/?p=17616</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After enduring extraordinary shocks in 2008, U.S. banks entered an exceptional state of turmoil in 2009. Starting as a credit issue in the subprime segment of the mortgage market, the sticky situation spread to almost the entire financial services industry and all corners of the globe. In other words, the financial crisis ultimately morphed into a massive economic crisis, which has had major ramifications across the whole world. Although the banking industry is dealing with liquidity and confidence challenges, it now has financial support from the U.S. government. The government has taken several steps Incorporatedluding programs offering capital injections and debt guarantees, to stabilize the financial system. We believe that the worst of the credit crisis is now probably behind us. After almost a year of initiating the $700 billion ]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://www.stockbloghub.com/2009/10/14/jpm-u-s-bank-industry-reviewed-analyst-interview/17616/feed</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		</item>
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