Wednesday Afternoon Reading

Housing

NAHB Builder Confidence index increases in February; Highest in over four years - CR

These Are The 10 NEW Most Expensive Cities In The World – Business Insider

FHA defaults up for ninth straight month – HousingWire

Bay Area’s hefty share of mortgage settlement – SF Chronicle

According to estimates from the California attorney general’s office, homeowners in the nine-county Bay Area are due to split $3.1 billion of the $18 billion to be distributed statewide. Alameda County is down to get the most – $757 million – followed by Contra Costa County ($651 million) and Santa Clara County ($588 million).
San Francisco should be receiving $147 million, according to the attorney general’s spreadsheet.
Under the settlement, approximately half a million California homeowners will be getting some sort of financial relief, in the form of principal reduction and easier refinancing for those currently underwater, or loan forgiveness and cash compensation (approximately $2,000) for those who have been foreclosed.

HUD’s Donovan Tells Remarkable Whoppers About Settlement to Mortgage Investors - Naked Capitalism

Obama Housing Plans vs. Reality – ProPublica

Fun With Numbers: Foreclosure Fraud Settlement Figures Tough to Add Up -FDL

Economy & Europe

Greece is broken, and can’t be fixed – Felix Salmon

Farage: Globalist Troika Driving Greece Towards Violent Revolution - Mish

http://youtu.be/W8Ayb8P1LbU

Next Up: Portugal- Dollar Collapse

Euro-Area Economy Shrinks – Bloomberg

Student Loan Crisis Busts Retirement Savings – CNBC

Many parents who co-signed loans or borrowed money on their own for their children’s education now face the loss of their retirement nest eggs, homes and other assets. As student loan debt has topped U.S. credit card debt, “America faces the very real possibility of another major threat on par with the devastating home mortgage crisis,” according to a new study by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA).

David Rosenberg – “Let’s Get Real – Risks Are Looming Big Time” – Zero Hedge

We are constantly being told how much better the economy is doing. It’s incredible what the January employment report did to people’s perceptions of the macro landscape. It’s as if we were just transported to the mentality that prevailed this time last year.