subprime crisis

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'Venal' Phil Gramm No Big Loss to McCain Camp
'Venal' Phil Gramm No Big Loss to McCain Camp
OPINION
Jul 15, 2008 8:15 PM CDT

'Venal' Phil Gramm No Big Loss to McCain Camp

'Nation of whiners' quote simply the latest in a long string of bad moves

(Newser) - "Nation of whiners” adviser Phil Gramm was simply an "accident waiting to happen" for the McCain campaign, writes Max Blumenthal in Huffington Post. Blumenthal runs down the “reactionary, venal and destructive” senator’s foibles—which run from enabling Enron to investing in porn. Gramm “left a...

Mortgage Insurers Feel Pinch, Pull Back on Loans

As more home loans fail, lenders ask more of beleaguered backers

(Newser) - Mortgage insurers facing mounting defaults are tightening their standards, adding another hurdle for potential homebuyers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Beleaguered and risk-averse banks are making more mortgage applicants apply for insurance, just as insurers are declaring more parts of the country “declining markets.” making insurance harder to...

FDIC Hunts for IndyMac Buyer
 FDIC Hunts for IndyMac Buyer 
Jul 14, 2008 2:40 PM CDT

FDIC Hunts for IndyMac Buyer

Feds want to see it as a whole; see more small banks failing in future

(Newser) - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is looking to sell recently capsized IndyMac as a whole to one healthy bank, an executive told Reuters today. The FDIC took over IndyMac on Friday after nervous customers withdrew more than $1.3B in 11 days. "I don't expect there will be large...

Senate OKs Foreclosure Relief Bill
Senate OKs Foreclosure Relief Bill
Jul 11, 2008 8:35 PM CDT

Senate OKs Foreclosure Relief Bill

House outcome uncertain; Bush will veto unless changed

(Newser) - By a huge margin, the Senate today passed a $300 billion bill to help homeowners avoid foreclosure—but the White House vows to veto it unless the House makes changes, the AP reports. The bill will let struggling homeowners reinsure at cheaper rates backed by the government, but President President...

Feds Seize Failed IndyMac Bank

Senator's comments led to takeover, regulator says

(Newser) - As mortgage lenders Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae crowded the headlines today, Washington snatched up IndyMac Bank in the second-largest US bank failure in history, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Pasadena, Calif. savings and loan, which owns about $32 billion in assets, saw stocks fall from $45 last year...

Consumers Are Quickly Trading Down
Consumers
Are Quickly Trading Down
Jul 11, 2008 12:26 PM CDT

Consumers Are Quickly Trading Down

Switch to cheaper goods is broadest since early '80s

(Newser) - As fuel prices and home foreclosures steadily rise, Americans are trading down in everything from automobiles to their lunch options. That's not unusual in an economic downturn, but the speed with which it's happening is, the Wall Street Journal reports. And the flight to the affordable and generic is affecting...

As Speculation Swirls, Panic Stalks Freddie, Fannie

As mortgage giants face increased losses, investors uncertain of their futures

(Newser) - What started as a whisper Monday is a roar at week’s end as investors wrestle with the fate of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Wall Street Journal reports. While neither firm, which together own or back roughly half  the nation’s mortgages, faces imminent collapse, awareness...

Fed to Crack Down on Subprime Loans

Also plans to extend low-cost overnight loan program for banks

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve will issue new rules next week restricting subprime lending and other exotic loans aimed at borrowers with weak credit, Ben Bernanke said today. He said the Fed is also considering extending the overnight low-cost loan program, which helps big banks in need of quick cash, a sign...

Baffled Execs Say Rumor Killed Stearns
 Baffled Execs Say
 Rumor Killed
 Stearns 
glossies
Jul 5, 2008 12:06 PM CDT

Baffled Execs Say Rumor Killed Stearns

They claim hedge funds, Goldman Sachs invented bad news for profit

(Newser) - Bear Stearns' collapse and shotgun marriage to JP Morgan were sparked by little more than a rumor, Vanity Fair reports. True, the investment bank had stumbled—a $1.6 billion bailout of troubled funds hurt its image—but whispers of liquidity problems were false: Bear had $18 billion in cash...

A Year On, Credit Crisis Lingers
 A Year On, 
 Credit Crisis
 Lingers 
ANALYSIS
Jul 1, 2008 7:09 AM CDT

A Year On, Credit Crisis Lingers

'Vicious circle' threatens broader economy

(Newser) - Despite assurances from some experts that the credit crisis would be short-lived, the forecast remains bleak after more than a year of frustrations, the New York Times reports. In a “vicious circle,” falling home prices lead to more bad loans, which makes credit harder to get so that...

Illinois to Sue Countrywide, CEO Over Foreclosure Fiasco

State blames company for foreclosures

(Newser) - The state of Illinois will sue Countrywide and its CEO today for "unfair and deceptive practices" in the first suit related to the current mortgage crisis. The company is accused of pushing loans on homeowners even if they couldn't repay them, the Wall Street Journal reports. Illinois' attorney general...

Barclays Seeks Liquidity With $8.85B Offering

More than half will be bought by Qatari, Japanese investors

(Newser) - Add Barclays to the ranks of banks that are floating new shares in an effort to restore liquidity in the lingering wake of the subprime debacle, reports the AP. Barclays will offer up $8.85 billion in shares—with large stakes being purchased by Japanese bank Sumitomo Mitsui and the...

Cramer: Never Seen Wall Street This Bad
 Cramer:
 Never Seen
 Wall Street
 This Bad 
ANALYSIS
Jun 16, 2008 12:02 PM CDT

Cramer: Never Seen Wall Street This Bad

Analyst sees no end in sight for layoffs and write-downs

(Newser) - While he steers clear of the Great Depression, everything else is fair game as reference in James J. Cramer’s apocalyptic appraisal of Wall Street for New York. In Cramer's 25 years, he's seen lots of implosions, but this one is different: With thousands of layoffs at major shops, and...

Embattled AIG CEO Steps Down
 Embattled AIG CEO Steps Down 
Jun 15, 2008 3:43 PM CDT

Embattled AIG CEO Steps Down

Board replaces Sullivan with Citi exec Willumstad

(Newser) - Martin Sullivan has stepped down as AIG's CEO, and the company's board named chairman Maurice Willumstad his successor, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal. The insurance giant's stock has plummeted more than 50% since October due to subprime writedowns, and Sullivan is still embroiled in legal battles with his former...

Foreclosures Surge 48% in May
 Foreclosures Surge 48% in May 
Jun 13, 2008 9:35 AM CDT

Foreclosures Surge 48% in May

It's the second straight monthly record

(Newser) - The number of US homeowners swept up in the housing crisis rose further last month, with foreclosure filings up 48% over a year earlier. Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 7%  from April and the second straight monthly record. That's one in every...

Top Ideas of Past Year
 Top Ideas of Past Year 
OPINION
Jun 11, 2008 5:19 PM CDT

Top Ideas of Past Year

Atlantic Monthly runs down issues steered the national discourse in past year

(Newser) - Which ideas informed the national discourse (or lack thereof) in the past year? Well, the Atlantic Monthly knows, and there are 11 … er, 11½. From the troop surge in Iraq to post-partisan politics to the provocatively titled “mass-market atheism,” a look at some of the most captivating...

Lehman Posts $2.8B Loss, Stuns Wall St.

Investors fear that banks, securities firms still in trouble

(Newser) - Lehman Brothers shocked Wall Street today by posting a $2.8 billion quarterly loss, its first in 14 years and far worse than expected, the Wall Street Journal reports. Other downmarket reports added to investor anxiety, sent stocks falling, and boosted fears that banks and securities firms remain troubled. As...

US Economy Isn't Bouncing Back
 US Economy Isn't
 Bouncing Back 
analysis
Jun 8, 2008 5:11 PM CDT

US Economy Isn't Bouncing Back

Fed cuts, stimulus package won't do the trick

(Newser) - Forget those predictions of a US economic revival in 2008, Daniel Gross writes in Newsweek. The four horsemen of the economy—credit and housing crises, food and energy prices—are getting meaner, while booming commodities and crunching credit are curbing attempts to fight back. "As a result, the consumer-driven...

New Wave of Foreclosures Expected in '09

ARM holders will see payments soar as their mortgages reset

(Newser) - America’s subprime victims may have grudgingly accepted their fate, but there’s a new class of borrowers primed to suffer, BusinessWeek reports. Homeowners who took out ARMs, or adjustable rate mortgages, will soon face skyrocketing payments as their loans reset. About a million people have the mortgages, but only...

Squatters, Scammers Move In on Foreclosed Homes

Increasingly, abandoned homes are being used for nefarious activity

(Newser) - Add a new twist to the housing crisis: Squatters are increasingly using homes that have been abandoned for months, and con artists are scamming banks in “cash for keys” deals or luring people into “leasing” homes that actually are foreclosures sitting empty, Reuters reports. Authorities can have a...

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