July 16, 2007 (LPAC)--Last Tuesday, homebuilder Ryland Group Inc became the latest to warn of a loss due to inventory "impairments" and write-offs. For the quarter ended June 30, Ryland expects losses between $145 million and $155 million, representing 6% of book value, most closely associated with collapsing land values in Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada, according to Bank of America Securities. That same day, another major builder, D.R. Horton Inc. announced drop of 49% in orders, and charges that would lead to red ink in the latest quarter. Then, on July 11, the National Association of Realtors trimmed its existing-home and new-home sales forecasts, increasing the amount that they believe house prices will fall in 2007 from 2006, to 2.6%, to $240,100 for new homes, and 1.4%, to $218,800 for existing homes.

July 4, 2007 (LPAC)--In a sign of the collapsing credit market, United Capital Asset Management, an important player in asset-backed securities, said July 3 it has halted investor redemptions on four of its Horizon hedge fu