[EGPWS]

Rampant fraud in the mortgage industry has increased so sharply that the FBI warned Friday of an "epidemic" of financial crimes which, if not curtailed, could become "the next S&L crisis."

Looking at the bright side, it does again show how our economy is booming.

However, the perps of fraud, when taking advantage of it, should get a barred window for life!

[FITZ]

Looking at the bright side, it does again show how our economy is booming.

Or the reverse --- it makes it look like the economy is booming --- what is the rate of foreclosures up to now?

It's very interesting because even those this region has the highest unemployment rate, and wages overall are dropping, home-buying is up --- one reason is that now the very low income class can buy homes with 0 down and use $400 or more in government housing subsidies to buy their house.