AFP – US existing home sales fell 2.2 percent in December as the beleaguered housing market saw no relief from its woes, data releases Thursday showed.

AP – Pushing deficit concerns aside, Democratic and Republican leaders moved closer to agreement with the White House Wednesday night on emergency tax cuts and benefit increases to jolt the economy out of its slump, including opening new financing windows for some home loans.

FT.com – In early December, UBS (NYSE:UBS) realised it had a problem. As the credit markets continued to slump, the Swiss bank concluded that the value of its investments linked to US subprime mortgages had dropped by another $10bn.

AP – Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. on Thursday said it would cease wholesale mortgage lending in the U.S. because of the continued housing slump, a move that includes 1,300 jobs cuts and a $40 million charge.

AFP – US investment bank Lehman Brothers said Thursday it was eliminating 1,300 staff as it continues to scale back its US mortgage operations amid a national housing slump.

Reuters – Investment bank Lehman Brothers
Holdings Inc on Thursday said it would stop U.S.
wholesale mortgage lending because of a continued slump in
credit and housing markets, a move that will cut 1,300 jobs and
result in a $40 million charge.

AP – Mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp Inc. said Tuesday it will slash its work force by 24 percent, laying off 2,403 employees in a bid to cut costs as it tries to weather the worsening housing slump and sagging demand for home loans.

AFP – US banking giant Citigroup blamed the housing slump Tuesday for a huge quarterly loss of 9.83 billion dollars, as it told anxious shareholders it had won fresh capital from mainly foreign backers.

BusinessWeek Online – For months, high-end retailers posted healthy sales increases, thumbing their noses at dismal reports of slumping home sales, risky mortgages, and rising energy prices. But now it looks as though even well-heeled consumers are pulling back. On Jan. 10, the upscale department store Nordstrom said that December sales at stores open at least a year fell 4% from last year, compared with an 8.7% increase in November. Saks , New York’s Fifth Avenue luxury mainstay, also reported that its same-store sales were up a mere 0.8%, compared with a 25. …

Reuters – Most mornings are sweet at the
Marmalade Cafe, up the street from the Calabasas, California
headquarters of Countrywide Financial Corp. But not this
Friday.