*The Washington Business Journal reports the local angle on Lehman Brothers’ demise: “Over the past several years, Lehman has invested about $620 million in at least 15 Monument [Realty] projects, according to Monument’s Web site, often acting as an equity partner above and beyond any exposure as a debt provider on Monument projects. Among other things, Lehman holds an interest in Monument’s Half Street development near the ballpark, the Watergate Hotel project, the Monument View mixed-use project near Crystal City and two failed condominium projects that are seeking apartment investors.”
*Over at Slate, Jack Shafer provides a rundown of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac “villains in boldface” (his wording) and their back-scratching with Washington politicians. Shafer also digs up a six-year-old article from Washingtonian magazine about the same subject.
*People aren’t building as many homes as they were a few years ago. Surprise, surprise. But, check out the numbers over at CNN‘s website, if you want more details. “Construction fell by 14.5% in the Northeast and was down 13.6% in the Midwest and 7.4% in the South. All the declines left construction activity 33.1% below the level of a year ago.”