Major commercial real estate lender Capmark Financial Group Inc. and various subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which last month the company had warned was coming. The move will allow the Capmark to reorganize and, very likely, delay selling off some of its $20 billion-plus in assets at less-than-desirable prices.

In testimony reminiscent of dogs getting credit-card applications approved back during the mid-2000s credit bubble, a Treasury Department inspector told Congress that kids as young as four years old have been able to receive $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credits. “Some key controls were missing to prevent an individual from erroneously or fraudulently claiming the credit,” J. Russell George told the House Ways and Means Committee’s oversight panel on Thursday.

The Federal Reserve’s most recent Summary of Commentary on Current Economic Conditions,better known as the Beige Book, wasn’t exactly cheerful about the stateof the U.S. economy toward the end of annus horribilis 2009. But itwasn’t precisely pessimistic either.

U.S. housing starts posted a gain in September, but only a modest one,pointing to a still-modest rate of recovery for the overall economy.According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, the rate of new homestarted inched upward by 0.5 percent during the month to a seasonally adjustedrate of about 590,000 units. Ever-optimistic economists, it seems, wereexpecting more.

The U.S. housing market might not be quite as deathly ill as it was a year ago, but no one is suggesting–to stretch the health metaphor–that it will get up and run a marathon any time soon. In fact, the industry is wheezing and gasping a little at the thought of the looming expiration of the $8,000 first-timer tax credit, so plans have been hatched in Congress to keep the credit in place.

Which bank will be lucky 100th bank to fail in 2009? Or more fittingly, the unlucky 100th? The world will have to wait until next weekend.

More than 925,000 U.S. homeowners received a foreclosure notice of some kind — a default notice, scheduled auction or bank repossession — during the third quarter of 2009, according to RealtyTrac, a figure that represents a 5 percent increase over the second quarter and a 23 percent increase over 3Q08. One in every 136 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, which was the highest quarterly foreclosure rate since the company began issuing its report in the first quarter of 2005 — though admittedly, that was during the run up to the bubble peak.

The heads of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Office of Thrift Supervision were all before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Financial Institutions on Wednesday sounding a warning about bad commercial real estate loans and their threat to the health of the banking system, none of which is news, but all of which is troubling.

Federal Housing Finance Agency acting director Edward J. DeMarco told Congress on Thursday that it ain’t over till it’s over when it comes to the problems caused by U.S. housing mortgage delinquencies. And for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae especially, it’s not nearly over.

In an effort to keep buyers from wriggling out of their deals, and as a simple acknowledgment that the luxury condo market just isn’t what it used to be, MGM Mirage and its partner Dubai World are slashing prices for condos at their City Center development in Las Vegas by 30 percent.