Friday, November 20th

Today in History:

1914 - US State Department starts requiring photographs for passports

1919 - 1st municipally owned airport in US opens (Tucson Az)

1920 - Nobel Peace Prize awarded to US president W Wilson

1975 - Ronald Reagan announced candidacy for Rep nomination for president

1979 - US’s 1st artificial blood transfusion occurs at U of Minn Hospital

1984 - McDonald’s made its 50 billionth hamburger

2008 - After critical failures in the US financial system began to build up after mid-September, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level since 1997.

Problem mortgages hit new high at 14% - Washington Post

Foreclosures will keep rising through 2010 - LA Times

Pair plead guilty to $150 million worth of mortgage fraud - MyDesert.com

NY Judge: Mortgage scammer to give lectures as punishment - AP

Housing recovery delayed to 2010 as market wanes - Bloomberg

New Fed housing program involves $29B in financing - AP

What’s next for mortgage rates - Business Week

Mortgage Q&A: Treasury bonds keep U.S. afloat - Washington Times

A gift to credit card companies - NY Times
(Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi solely blocks the vote for immediately freezing credit card rates and fees)

China may need to slow credit growth to stem bubbles - Bloomberg