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 Good morning! Here's what you need to know: 1. The Wall Street Journal reports: "Almost 40% of homeowners who took out second mortgages—extracting cash from their residences to cover everything from vacations to medical bills—are underwater on their loans, more than twice the rate of owners who didn't take out such loans." 2. The Economist reports: "The amount of equity in American homes has plummeted from $14.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2006 to just $6.3 trillion at the end of 2010. Low-income households have borne the brunt of the pain: prices at the lower end of the country’s metropolitan markets have fallen much more steeply than those for plusher properties." 3. The Economist report is based on an annual survey of the US housing market conducted by Harvard University’s Joint Centre for Housing Studies (JCHS). The full report can be found here. 4. Disapproval for President Obama's handling of the economy and the deficit has reached new highs, according to a Washington Post/ABC News Poll published today. The poll indicates that President Obama faces a difficult re-election race. 5. The poll also found that two-thirds of Americans think the country is "off on the wrong track." Roughly 60 percent believe the economic recovery has not begun. Mitt Romney now leads President Obama in a head-to-head match-up, albeit by a slim margin (49%-46%). Full data are here. 6. Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, announced yesterday that he would be stepping down to return to his teaching post at The University of Chicago. Mr. Goolsbee is widely- respected and well-liked. His departure further weakens President Obama's core team of economic advisors. 7. Nobel Prize-winning economist and MIT professor Peter Diamond withdrew his name from consideration to become a Federal Reserve governor Monday. His nomination was blocked by Republicans in the United States Senate. 8. National Journal reports: "President Obama huddled with top national-security advisers on Monday to discuss...Afghanistan strategy, but he has yet to make a decision on just how many troops he’ll call home when a long-planned reduction of troops begins next month." 9. Support for the war in Afghanistan has rebounded a bit, according to the Washington Post/ABC News poll. The increase in support for the war effort there gives President Obama more political flexibility as he moves toward a decision on the draw-down of US forces. 10. Former US Senator Rick Santorum yesterday announced his candidacy for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination. He said he would overhaul Medicare and Social Security to reduce the deficit. He blasted President Obama for being a big government liberal. 11. US Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY) confessed yesterday to being a tweeting/texting exhibitionist. He said he would not resign. He may be redistricted out of office instead. His 2013 New York City mayoral campaign is finished. 12. The Financial Times reports: "Preet Bharara, the US attorney with jurisdiction over Wall Street, said federal prosecutors are continuing to probe fraud allegations arising from the financial crisis in the face of growing public anger that no top brokerage firm executives have been charged with any wrongdoing." For the latest in politics, visit Politics. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. | 
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