Sunday Morning Links

I've had two tabs open in my browser for several days in anticipation of writing a longer post on the housing market, jobs and the economy.  I am not going to get to that post anytime soon, but wanted to link the tabs anyway.  The first is from The Economist's Free Exchange blog and is about housing leading the way to a sustained economic recovery.   The second link is to a Wall Street Journal article, (via Yahoo Finance), also discussing housing but from the finance angle.  Is describes mortgage bond security guru Lewis Ranieri's latest venture, which is starting a private, non-traditional lender to step into the mortgage market because banks' credit standards are too restrictive.  Yes, the "subprime" word is mentioned, but I'm convinced Ranieri's and others' ideas on the mortgage market make sense.  I have come to the conclusion that housing is the key to jobs and economic growth, and until housing improves the economy will struggle.