Majority of public believes U.S. is in a recession.
According to a new CNN poll, 57 percent of the public believes the United States “is in a recession. … That number is up significantly from the October survey, when only 46 percent believed the U.S. economy was in recession.” 

Wall Street sinks after Fed cuts rates
NEW YORK - Stocks fell Tuesday after the Federal Reserve lowered its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage points, disappointing some investors who hoped the central bank would take more aggressive measures. The Dow Jones industrial average, which had been up about 40 points before the decision, fell 250 points.

Mortgage Crisis Forces Big Cuts at WaMu
Mortgage Woes Force WaMu to Close Offices, Slash Over 3,100 Jobs and Drop Subprime Loans
I was wondering when they were going to have to start closing some of the seemingly hundreds of offices they’ve opened recently in downtown Chicago.

Freddie Mac expects $10-12 billion credit losses
Freddie Mac expects to see credit losses of $10 billion to $12 billion on the book of mortgages it currently owns, the mortgage finance company’s chief executive said on Tuesday.

Derivative Trades Jump 27% to Record $681 Trillion
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — Derivatives traded on exchanges surged 27 percent to a record $681 trillion in the third quarter, the biggest increase in three years, the Bank for International Settlements said. Interest-rate futures, contracts designed to speculate on or hedge against moves in borrowing rates, led the increase with a 31 percent increase to $594 trillion during the three months ended Sept. 30, the Basel, Switzerland-based BIS said today in its quarterly review. The amounts are based on the notional amount underlying the contracts.