Foreclosure in Garland

The Housing-Bubble and the American Revolution (New York Times)
A burst housing bubble and ensuing deep recession may have set off the American war for independence.

States look to Fed for budget help (Florida Today)
With Florida foreclosures skyrocketing and unemployment rising above the national average, lawmakers are scrambling to plug a $2 billion budget hole as the economy continues to spiral.

Collier County gets personal with banks to clean up untidy foreclosures (Naples Daily News)
As a record number of foreclosures hits Collier County month after month, the county is quietly making headway on at least one problem: persuading banks to mow the lawns of vacant homes — and even clean the pools. Officials said a code-enforcement program started Nov. 6 has already saved the county thousands of dollars when it comes to sprucing up foreclosed properties.

KRUGMAN: Now is time to head off next crisis (The Santa Rosa Press Democrat)
A few months ago I found myself at a meeting of economists and finance officials, discussing -- what else' -- the crisis. There was a lot of soul-searching going on. One senior policymaker asked, "Why didn't we see this coming'"There was, of course, only one thing to say in reply, so I said it: "What do you mean 'we,' white man'"

Suit: CBRE Realty Finance Defrauded Shareholders In IPO (Banker & Tradesman)
By Paul McMorrow The bursting housing bubble and credit crisis have not been kind to CBRE Realty Finance. The Hartford, Conn.-based firm was recently de-listed from the New York Stock Exchange, and is ending its relationship with CB Richard Ellis.

UPDATE: BOE Besley: Rates Not Way To Tackle Asset Bubbles (Nasdaq)
LONDON -(Dow Jones)- The role of the bursting housing bubble in the financial crisis doesn't undermine the case for inflation targeting, Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee's Tim Besley has said.

Foreclosures continue to rise (The Times of Northwest Indiana)
Months after a $700 million federal bailout package was approved, local municipal officials say the foreclosure crisis doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Foreclosures under review in Britain (UPI)
LONDON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- The Financial Services Authority, Britain's financial watchdog, has given lenders until Jan. 31, to review their policies on mortgage foreclosures.

Reform, housing bubble's burst delivers double shock (The Post and Courier)
Talk about kicking them when they're down. Tens of thousands of people bought properties in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in 2007, only to see the value of many of those properties decline as the housing bubble burst. Then, those same people saw their property tax bills soar this year because of changes to the tax system voters approved in a 2006 constitutional referendum.

Editorial: Fed Targets Mortgage Markets (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
The federal government's dizzying series of bailouts finally has taken aim at the industry where the cash can do the most good - housing.

Lee County courts tackle housing crisis (The News-Press)
Next week the circuit court in Lee County launches its assault on more than 25,000 foreclosures backed up in the system.

Minnetonka not immune to home foreclosures (Minnetonka Sun-Sailor)
For two years the number of home foreclosures has steadily increased in the city of Minnetonka, but in 2008 the number has exploded. The housing and financial crisis has not hit Minnetonka as hard as some other Minnesota cities, but neither is the community immune to the problem.

Cycles of Doom (New York Times)
How government managers encouraged inflation in the 1960s and ?70s and led the American economy into recession.

Our retail therapy is in China, India and Germany (Financial Times)
For much of the past three years, as it became evident that the US housing bubble was bursting, I believed that the old adage "the US catches a cold, the world catches pneumonia" would be laid to rest, helped by the emergence of the so-called Brics - Brazil, Russia, India, China.

How foreclosures have swept the Valley (The Arizona Republic)
Over 40,000 have lost homes in the last 18 months.