Do you know, you can save enough money by selling your home alone, and even keep the real estate commission in your pocket? When a home owner sells or buys a home without contacting a real estate agent, the commission he or she was to pay to a real estate agent is saved. Read more…

FT.com - According to new polls, the economy is the number one issue for American voters. A million homeowners may lose their homes because of the subprime mortgage crisis and millions more face difficulties getting credit. Energy costs are up, consumer confidence is down. We are poised for recession. Read more…

NewsFactor - Worldwide semiconductors sales during November totaled $23.1 billion -- a 2.3 percent rise from one year earlier, the Semiconductor Industry Association said in its latest report. Rising energy prices and concerns about subprime lending issues apparently had no significant impact on consumer spending for electronic products during the holiday shopping season, the industry trade association noted. Read more…

AP - Germany's economy minister and a leading economic institute said Wednesday they expect 2008 growth to cool amid rising food and oil prices and fallout from the U.S. subprime mortgage loan crisis. Read more…

FT.com - Alan Budd: I don't know how far house prices will fall and I was wrong to have predicted a fall earlier. A fall of more than 10 % would not surprise me at all. The rise in house prices appeared to have little or no effect on the UK economy and the fall may be the same. However there could be effects on borrowing (because of falls in collateral values) and wider loss of consumer confidence. That is why I have mentioned falls in asset values as one of the risks. Read more…

Reuters - More steps by Congress and the Bush administration are likely needed to stabilize the imploding U.S. housing market, a senior White House official said on Tuesday, as more signs of distress appear. Read more…

Reuters - Home builders and financial issues, the biggest casualties of the subprime lending meltdown, were hit again by tax-motivated selling in recent weeks but could rebound a bit early in the new year, money managers said on Monday. Read more…

AP - Sales of previously owned homes nudged up in November, but that didn't improve the broader picture of a feeble housing market racked by record-high foreclosures and harder-to-get credit. Read more…

Reuters - The pace of existing home sales edged up in November from a record low, according to a report on Monday that offered some tentative signs of stabilization in the still-ailing housing market. Read more…

AFP - Existing home sales in the United States inched up 0.4 percent in November, breaking an eight-month streak of declining sales amid a prolonged housing slump, industry figures showed Monday. Read more…

Reuters - Defaults on privately insured mortgages rose 34.7 percent in November to the highest level on record, reflecting the inability of a growing number of homeowners to keep current on their loan payments. Read more…

FT.com - US stocks pared earlier losses but remained in negative territory in mid-morning trade on Monday, the last trading day of the year, as investors digested fresh data on the housing market. Read more…

Reuters - Single-family home builder M/I Homes Inc. said on Monday it has sold land in its Florida markets to help reduce debt, and is exiting the West Palm Beach market, where its assets included about 500 lots in four communities. Read more…

Reuters - As more banks report write-downs tied to the global credit crunch, analysts say Wachovia Corp may have losses lurking in an area that has garnered less investor attention. Read more…

FT.com - Shares in London Scottish Bank were hit as the subprime lender and debt collector said it would fall short of regulatory capital requirements and may be unable to pay a final dividend. Read more…

FT.com - Marbles, the credit card owned by a private-equity backed specialist subprime lender, is raising its charges in a further sign of a squeeze on consumer credit. Read more…

Sales of new homes have plunged even more than expected to their lowest level in more than 12 years, leaving the market glutted with unsold homes and pointing to more trouble ahead for the battered housing market. Read more…

AP - Former shareholders of First Republic Bank sued Merrill Lynch & Co. on Friday, alleging the company hid billions of dollars in subprime mortgage-related losses while the two companies' combination was pending. Read more…

AP - Treasury prices rallied Friday, pushing yields lower after news that new home sales hit a more than 12-year low in November, suggesting weak construction will reduce economic growth next year. Read more…

FT.com - Sales of new homes in the US plunged to a 12-year low last month, signalling that the flagging housing market will remain a drag on the US economy well into 2008. Read more…

Reuters - Merrill Lynch & Co was sued on Friday by former shareholders of First Republic Bank, who accused the company of hiding billions of dollars in losses related to subprime mortgages while the companies' merger was pending. Read more…

AP - The housing market plunged deeper into despair last month, with sales of new homes plummeting to their lowest level in more than 12 years. Read more…

FT.com - Wall Street stocks rebounded on Friday but early gains were halved after new home sales hit their lowest rate in more than 12 years. Read more…

AFP - Sales of new homes in the US plunged in November as tight lending conditions and consumer pessimism led to the slowest rate in more than 12 years, new government data showed Friday. Read more…

FT.com - House prices fell for a second consecutive month in December, a survey showed on Friday, signalling that sentiment in the housing market has swung sharply down and is unlikely to recover quickly in response to lower interest rates. Read more…