Mortgage lenders see opportunity beyond the border (Everett Herald)
The cold domestic housing and mortgage markets have lenders looking for warmer possibilities, and a few are spending more efforts to finance Americans who choose to purchase primary residences and second homes south of the border.

Bradford & Bingley Plunges on U.K. Mortgage Outlook (Correct) (Bloomberg.com)
(Correct share price in second paragraph.) May 19 (Bloomberg) — Bradford & Bingley Plc , the U.K.’s biggest lender to landlords, fell to an all-time low as Panmure Gordon & Co. said the economic outlook worsened “significantly.”

London midday: Second thoughts on M&S add to gloom (ShareCast via Yahoo! UK & Ireland Finance)
Footsie has a sorry look to it with miners lower on weak aluminium, copper, lead, nickel, tin and zinc prices and second thoughts on M&S wiping out all of its early gains.

Mortgage aid: Navigating a murky process (The Bulletin)
WASHINGTON Zena Collins knew she had a serious problem when she could no longer afford electricity.The mortgage payment on her Gaithersburg, Md., house had jumped about $500, to $2,000 a month, not counting taxes and insurance, after her adjustable interest rate increased. When she bought the house in 2000, she was a pension administrator. By the time her company decided to cut her job, she …

California Luxury Home Prices Fall for Second Straight Quarter (Bloomberg.com)
May 19 (Bloomberg) — California luxury home prices fell for the second consecutive quarter as banks required higher credit scores and down payments, reducing the number of potential buyers in the state’s wealthiest communities.