Economics and Investing:

The Worrying Numbers Behind Underwater Homeowners. A bit of good housing news came in a recent report issued by real estate analytics firm CoreLogic: The number of mortgaged residential properties with negative equity declined slightly to 11.2 million by the end of the first quarter this year, down from 11.3 million at the end of 2009. The bad news: Those 11.2 million loans are 24% of all U.S. mortgages. Add the 2.3 million borrowers who are close to slipping underwater (those with less than 5% equity), and the numbers rise to 13.5 million — 28% of mortgages.

B.B. sent this one: Fannie Mae Seeks $1.5 Billion From U.S. Treasury After 12th Straight Loss. (The MOAB continues to grow…)

It’s Official: Social Security System Now in the Red. It finally happened: The nation’s Social Security system will pay out more than it takes in this year and next, as aging baby boomers enter retirement. On the plus side, according one estimate, health-care reform should keep Medicare solvent for an extra 12 years.

Growing Alarm Over Deflation Could Be a Buying Opportunity
. Some analysts are now worried about falling prices, sending big investors fleeing stocks for safer assets. But earnings are healthy and pockets of strength are emerging, suggesting it’s a good time to go against the grain.

The latest from the Dr. Housing Bubble blog: Million dollar California foreclosures – 35 examples of massive upper-tier foreclosures including one home that is underwater by $2.2 million. Santa Monica housing still in a bubble.