Countrywide puts lipstick on the pig (Salon.com)
As criticism mounts, the mortgage lender takes bold action: Green wristbands for all employees (who are not being laid off).

Never a Better Time (London Free Press)
Home sales are the hottest they've ever been and continue to grow exponentially, according to numbers from the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Company.

Amico Brothers Plead Guilty (R News)
Two brothers appeared in federal court Wednesday afternoon to plead guilty to mortgage fraud charges and avoid another trial. Forty-five year old Robert Amico pleaded guilty to obtaining false mortgage loans and conspiracy to commit bank and mortgage fraud.

Outlook: Speculation Kills (Washington Post)
"Twenty years ago, the Slavic Village neighborhood of Cleveland was a tightly knit community of first- and second-generation Polish and Czech immigrants. Today, it's in danger of becoming a ghost town, largely because a swarm of speculators, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders saw an opportunity to make a buck there.... The neighborhood wasn't always a haven for criminals -- not ...

Amico Brothers Accept Plea Deal (R News)
The Amico brothers, at the center of the region's largest federal fraud case ever, accepted a plea deal in a Rochester federal court Wednesday. Robert and Richard Amico have been out of jail after serving four years for a mortgage fraud scheme.