Morgan Stanley will repay the $10 billion in federal bailout loans on Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. A week ago, the company said it would pay it back but didn’t give a specific time line.

The bailout money came from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, a program that was set into motion to help the financial industry in the United States and attempt to cushion the blow of the economic downturn.

In a press release, Morgan Stanley stated that they believe the Troubled Asset Relief Program was a success.

Morgan Stanley is pleased to be repaying its $10 billion in TARP capital with an attractive return for taxpayers.  We believe this positive development reflects both Morgan Stanley’s strong capital position as well as the important systemic role the TARP program played in helping stabilize the U.S. banking system since the height of the financial crisis.  After exiting the TARP program, Morgan Stanley will continue working closely with the Obama administration, elected officials, our regulators and our peers on the best possible framework to ensure the safety and soundness of the U.S. banking system.

One reason why companies are rushing to repay the federal bailout loans is due to the fact that many companies are afraid that the federal government may place stringent standards and policies — including employee pay limits and regulation.

Morgan Stanley (Image: Flickr)

Google CEO Eric Schmidt may not seem like the most likely candidate to speak at a newspaper convention, but sources announced that he’ll be giving the keynote address at the Newspaper Association of America’s annual convention. Right now, most print news publishers are seeing a dramatic loss of sales, and many blame online news aggregation services like Google.

Eric Schmidt, Image: Newscom

Analysts estimate that Google is responsible for 20% to 30% of all traffic sent to newspaper websites. In the past, Schmidt has urged newspapers to jump on board with better technology, allowing them to increase their revenue from online readership. Many, however, question the integrity and legality of Google’s News Search and Web Search services. Rupert Murdoch, CEO of News Corp, which owns The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, and other news services, thinks that it is unfair that Google aggregates content without permission from the news sites themselves.

“Should we be allowing Google to steal all our copyrights? If you have a brand like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal, you don’t have to. You can say thanks but no thanks.”

Google says they are well within copyright laws because they only use a few lead words and a link back to the original source. Not everyone has an issue with the links themselves though - just the way they are done. Some say that Google needs to more clearly define news sources. Right now, professional news is linked on lists that also include opinion and commentary from non-professional blog sources.

The Associated Press has plans for a news aggregation service for its members that won’t support Google’s aggregation tools. It will also have a tracking system to ensure that the content isn’t being used illegally elsewhere on the Internet. Many bloggers copy and past entire AP articles, and this would put an end to those practices.

We think that celebrities lead unreal lives, ones far removed from our own days, days filled with trips to the grocery store, worries over rising gas prices and concerns that our homes may not be worth as much as we paid for them.

As it turns out, though, celebrities face many of the same problems as we all do, especially when it comes to their homes.

I recently ran across an Associated Press story in the Chicago Tribune — which you can read here — that details the struggles many celebrities are facing with the often challenging task of owning and selling homes. We all remember that Johnny Carson’s former sidekick, Ed McMahon, made news earlier this summer when he admitted that he was on the verge of seeing his Beverly Hills home, which is now on the market for $6.5 million, fall into foreclosure.

McMahon, it turns out, is far from the only celebrity facing housing problems. Pro basketball player Vin Baker has seen his home in Connecticut hit the auction block. And actress Joely Fisher is having so many problems selling her residence, that she has had to lop $1 million off its asking price, which now stands at $3.29 million.

The lesson here? Remember that housing problems can impact anyone, no matter how famous or rich. And secondly, don’t necessarily envy that T.V. star. He or she may be facing the same financial struggles than you battle on a daily basis.

During the housing boom that started in 2001, homes throughout California soared in value. For a while, it seemed that prices in the Golden States would never stop rising.

Then the housing slump came. And California is now suffering more than any other state.

A recent Associated Press story, written by reporter Alex Veiga, said that the median price of a home in California plummeted 30 percent in May. That, according to DataQuick Information Systems, is the largest fall in at least 20 years.

There is a sliver of good news for real estate professionals in California. The dropping prices have spurred an increase in home sales. And why not? Buyers can now get some terrific bargains.

In fact, this is what much of the real estate industry is hoping will finally happen in the rest of the country. As housing prices fall, they hope, buyers will finally stop waiting and begin snatching up the bargains.

It hasn’t happened yet, which is why housing sales are down across the country. But if California is any indicator, maybe the great buying frenzy will start before too much longer.

The Associated Press, in a story written by Alan Zibel, recently reported that the number of vacant homes for sale in the United States hit an all-time high in the first quarter of the year.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 2.28 million vacant homes were on the market in the first quarter. The Census Bureau has been tracking this number since 1956, and this is the highest it’s ever been.

There you have it: More bad residential real estate news for those looking for it. When will this market turn around? Not for a while, I’m afraid. A best guess? Late 2009. Until then, expect more negative records for the housing industry.

Owners trying to sell their homes don’t need any more bad news. Unfortunately for them, a new survey by the Associated Press and and AOL Money & Finance just gave them some.

The survey, which has generated a lot of buzz, says that 60 percent of mortgage holders won’t buy a home in the next two years. This, of course, is not a good statistic for anyone trying to sell.

How frustrating is it these days to be a home seller? Housing prices are down. Sellers are willing to compromise on repairs, financial incentives and closing dates. And still, many buyers are hesitant to jump back into the market. What can sellers do?

I’d love to hear from all you home sellers out there. How much of a struggle has it been for you as your house has sat on the market? How many times have you had to reduce the price of your house? Is the real estate market in your area getting any stronger?

The nation’s Sun Belt continues to be the fastest-growing region of the United States. Texas, especially, saw big population gains in both 2006 and 2007.

Writer Paul Weber, with the Associated Press, wrote that four Texas metropolitan areas were among the 10 metro areas that saw the biggest population increase in the two years. You can read the story here.

Dallas-Fort Worth topped the list, adding 162,000 residents from July of 2006 to July of 2007. Houston, Austin and San Antonio also made the top 10.

Atlanta saw the second-largest jump, adding more than 151,000 new residents, while Phoenix came in third with more than 132,000 newcomers.

According to the story, 27 of the 50 fastest-growing metro areas were in the South, while 20 were in the West. Two were in the Midwest, and none were in the Northeast. The reamining metro area, Fayetteville, Ark., straddles the South and Midwest.

C’mon, people, what’s wrong the Midwest? I’m a proud Midwesterner since birth. You don’t like snowstorms, freezing winters, muggy summers or high unemployment?

If this trend continues, I fear I may be the last person living in the Midwest.

Homebuilders’ confidence, as measured by their leading trade organization, the National Association of Home Builders, is way down. Turns out, there’s good reason for this.

According to this report from the Associated Press, the sales of new homes dropped by a record amount in 2007, while sales prices had their weakest showing in 16 years. If that’s not enough to shake builder confidence, what is?

According to the AP story, sales of new homes dropped by 26.4 percent in 2007 t0 774,000. That is the highest year-to-year drop on record.

At the same time, the median selling price of a new home barely moved at all last year. New home prices inched up 0.2 percent in 2007 to $246,900.

Here’s more evidence, as if anyone really needed it, that our current housing slump is a serious one. Real estate professionals may be preaching that the slump is nearing its end. The evidence, though, doesn’t support this view.

After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, I heard from several real estate professionals who told me that the country’s robust housing market was the only thing keeping the U.S. economy from tanking. They were right.

That, of course, has changed. Today, the housing market is struggling. You can see the housing industry’s troubles across the country: high foreclosure rates, stagnant housing prices, homes sitting on the market for more than a year. But in certain states, these troubles are magnified.

Take Michigan and Ohio. These two Midwest states have lost loads of manufacturing jobs. They’ve also seen little to no population growth. It’s little surprise, then, that the Associated Press yesterday reported that Michigan and Ohio rank first and second respectively when it comes to mortgage loans that giant mortgage finance company Fannie Mae has written off.

Fannie Mae, which the Associated Press reports funds one of every five home loans in the United States, has written off $185 million of mortgage loans made to homeowners in Michigan and $101 million to those in Ohio. This means that Fannie Mae has decided that it has no chance of recovering any payment on these loans.

I live in the Midwest, and I know homeowners who call Michigan home. You can see the poverty as you drive through Southwest Michigan. The jobs just aren’t here anymore. That’s not the fault of the housing industry. It’s just realty.

The Fannie Mae numbers, then, didn’t surprise me. They did sadden me, though. They also offer more evidence, if any was needed, that the housing industry can’t be expected to carry any state’s economy any longer, much less an entire country’s. How much has changed in six years.