Countrywide's Debt is still worth more than analyst's opinion despite being lowered to junk level as debt.

The Federal Reserve on Friday approved the proposal, released Thursday by the Office of Thrift Supervision and the National Credit Union Administration. The proposal would give reasonable time to make payments and much more.

With the Presidential race heating up it appears as though everyone has an opinion. But what role should they play? And more importantly, why should we listen to them?

Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) announced today that it priced its new 3.50% $3 billion five-year USD Reference Notes® security due on May 29, 2013. The issue, CUSIP number 3137EABJ7, was priced at 99.548 to yield 3.594%, or 105.5 basis points more than five-year U.S. Treasury Notes. The issue will settle on March 14, 2008.

The Fed can (and probably will) continue lowering short term interest rates but it is not doing much to bring down long term interest rates that dictate how much people pay on most mortgages.

In an old-fashioned pyramid scheme, the alluring premise is that you'll get back far more than you invest, a exponential return. The reason it is a "scheme" rather than a sustainable business model is that it is impossible for everyone who joins the pyramid to achieve the same returns.

NeighborWorks America is pleased to announce that HomEq Servicing has joined other leading members of the financial, mortgage, insurance and nonprofit sectors in a partnership to provide struggling borrowers with alternatives to foreclosure.

30-Year AND 15-Year FRM At Lowest Level Since July 2005 - McLean, VA – Freddie Mac (NYSE:FRE) yesterday released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®) in which the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.69 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending January 17, 2008, down from last week when it averaged 5.87 percent as well. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 6.23 percent.

The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) today released its Weekly Mortgage Applications Survey for the week ending January 11, 2008. The Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, was 906.4, an increase of 28.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from 706.0 one week earlier.

Disruptions in the mortgage market and tightening credit continued to impact the housing sector in Florida in October. Statewide, sales of existing single-family homes totaled 9,165 last month while 12,846 homes sold in October 2006 for a decrease of 29 percent in the year-to-year comparison, according to the Florida Association of Realtors® (FAR).

I have always said that it is very deceiving to say that the mortgage crisis is all about subprime loans. During the housing bubble, prime borrowers got just as greedy as subprime buyers and got themselves in loans they didn’t understand and/or couldn’t afford.

Homebuilding and Mortgage Lending Industries Likely To Face Most Trouble As Housing Crisis May Be Lasting Through 2008.