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Fannie Mae Loses Billions in Q4
Fannie Mae Loses Billions in Q4
Feb 27, 2008 10:48 AM CST

Fannie Mae Loses Billions in Q4

Government-backed lender off $3.56B, but feds lifts restraints on portfolio

(Newser) - Fannie Mae reported huge fourth-quarter losses today, painting an ugly picture both of the economy and the mortgage giant's own future. The company lost $3.56 billion—triple what analysts expected, Bloomberg reports. Derivatives were the big culprit, accounting for $3.33 billion in losses, but the company also reported...

Negative Equity Adds Another Crippling Factor

Forbes examines pitfalls of having a loan worth more than home

(Newser) - Foreclosure is scary enough, especially at its current pace—79% more US homes foreclosed in 2007 than the year before. But, Forbes writes, the housing crisis is dumping an even scarier problem on mortgage holders around the country: negative equity, in which a mortgage is worth more than the house...

FBI Targets 14 Firms in Subprime Fraud Probe

Suspected cases of mortgage fraud up in two years

(Newser) - The FBI is investigating 14 companies linked to the subprime mortgage crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. The bureau is pursuing allegations including accounting fraud  and insider trading, said a bureau spokesman. An investigation into the complex secondary mortgage market could implicate major firms that have lost billions of investor...

Home Prices Suffer Record Monthly Drop

October figures exceed gloomy estimates, show continued slump

(Newser) - Home prices plummeted 6.1% in October, a record year-over-year drop that exceeded forecasts. The index of prices in 20 major markets has dropped every month this year and fell 1.4% from the September figure, another record. The trend threatens overall consumer spending, making it more difficult for homeowners...

Squeezed Owners Seek Tax Break as Home Values Drop

Local governments feel the pinch as property taxes decline

(Newser) - With property values falling across much of the nation, more homeowners are asking for reassessments, looking for a break from property taxes that inflated before the subprime mortgage balloon burst, reports the New York Times. For local governments, especially in areas already suffering from high rates of foreclosure, declining property...

Nov. Housing Starts Fall 3.7%
Nov. Housing Starts Fall 3.7%
Dec 18, 2007 10:30 AM CST

Nov. Housing Starts Fall 3.7%

And permits for new homes fall to 14-year low

(Newser) - Housing starts fell less than expected in November, but fall they did, extending the worst housing slump since 1991. Starts fell 3.7% and, according to one analyst, probably won’t turn around until the third quarter of next year. Permits issued, which give a picture of future construction, fell...

Fed Plans to Tighten Mortgage Lending Rules

Proposals will rein in subprime lenders

(Newser) - Stricter rules will face mortgage lenders if a Federal Reserve proposal unveiled today moves forward. The Fed wants to prohibit or limit prepayment penalties, force lenders to make sure borrowers set aside money for taxes and insurance, require lenders to verify income, and prohibit lenders from giving borrowers unaffordable loans,...

Freddie Mac Chief: Housing Market Will Get Worse in 2008

Tells investors to expect losses in fourth quarter

(Newser) - Predicting even tougher times for the US housing market, Freddie Mac chief Richard Syron yesterday told investors in New York that the government-sponsored mortgage lender would report another net loss in the fourth quarter and credit losses to $12 billion on its mortgage portfolio, reports the Financial Times. Freddie Mac...

Wife of 'Dead' Canoeist Behind Bars
Wife of 'Dead' Canoeist Behind Bars
Dec 12, 2007 4:37 AM CST

Wife of 'Dead' Canoeist Behind Bars

Awaiting trial for insurance fraud, mom pleads for reconciliation with her sons

(Newser) - The wife of back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin was sent to prison yesterday shortly after she issued a plea through her attorney for a reconciliation with her sons, who publicly disowned their parents after the scandal broke. Anne Darwin is charged with dishonestly obtaining life insurance benefits and a mortgage policy....

Bad Credit? Buy a Piece of Someone Else's

Company boosts scores by adding names to paid-off loans

(Newser) - Americans struggling with bad credit records may have a new route to a better score: For as little as $1,199, a San Diego company is offering the chance for customers to add their names to already-paid-off loans in order to boost their rating, the Los Angeles Times reports. The...

Some Critics of Rate Freeze May Be Angry Investors

FDIC chief speculates that investors are blasting the plan to boost their income

(Newser) - Critics of the government’s new rescue plan for strapped homeowners may be investors who would cash in on a foreclosure-ridden market, one of the plan’s chief architects charges. Sheila Blair, head of the FDIC, speculated that naysayers may have a conflict of interest, the Wall Street Journal reports....

Subprime Nightmare to Get Worse
Subprime Nightmare to Get Worse
Nov 24, 2007 2:28 PM CST

Subprime Nightmare to Get Worse

With rates about to reset higher, expect more foreclosures

(Newser) - The subprime mortgage crisis is only just beginning, new data suggests. Hundreds of billions of dollars in subprime adjustable-rate mortgages are due to reset to higher rates in the year ahead, reports the Wall Street Journal. Analysts say this means the steep rise in defaults and foreclosures this year may...

Dow Dips Below 13K
Dow Dips Below 13K
Nov 12, 2007 3:38 PM CST

Dow Dips Below 13K

Markets seesaw, close down

(Newser) - The Dow closed below 13,000 today after seesawing on bad news from the financial sector and falling oil prices. The Dow finished at 12,987.55, down 55.19, after E*Trade said further mortgage-related write-downs might come—and its shares dropped 56%. The Nasdaq slid 43.81 to close...

Gen Xers Aren't Saving for Retirement

Too many still living paycheck to paycheck, one expert warns

(Newser) - Aging Gen Xers are too saddled with costs and debt to save for retirement, MSNBC reports. In fact, 62% of Gen Xers—those born roughly from 1965 to 1980—said they still live paycheck to paycheck, according to a Charles Schwab survey. And they’re headed for trouble: The fund...

Mortgage Rates Drop to 5-Month Low
Mortgage Rates Drop
to 5-Month Low
Nov 9, 2007 2:16 AM CST

Mortgage Rates Drop to 5-Month Low

Analysts attribute dip to slackening economy

(Newser) - Rates for 30-year fixed mortgages have slipped for the third week in a row. The dip to 6.24% is the lowest level since May. Mortgage rates have been falling across the board over the last week, which analysts attribute to the slackening economy. The drop follows the Fed's cut...

Fed Slashes Key Interest Rate Another Quarter-Point

Board signals further cuts are no sure thing

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve cut its key lending rate today by 25 basis points, to 4.5%. The expected reduction is the second of the federal funds rate in two months. The board asserted, however, that growth and inflation risks are now “roughly balanced,” a signal that further cuts...

McCanns Used Maddie Fund to Help Pay Their Mortgage

After six months, still no sign of missing girl

(Newser) - Madeleine McCann's parents used money from a fund set up to help find the missing girl to pay the mortgage, the Guardian Unlimited reports. The couple made two payments with money from the £1m fund, a family spokesman said. Both parents have been on unpaid leave since Maddie disappeared...

Bankruptcies Jump as Owners Fight to Save Homes

Popular Chapter 13 staves off foreclosure

(Newser) - Bankruptcies jumped 23% last month over the same time last year as debtors caught up in the sagging US housing market struggled to save their homes, reports the Wall Street Journal. Homeowners are now increasingly turning to Chapter 13 as an option—which can stave off foreclosure for three to...

Housing Ills Ripple Across Pond
Housing Ills Ripple Across Pond
Oct 22, 2007 2:00 PM CDT

Housing Ills Ripple Across Pond

(Newser) - The American housing crisis is echoing in Europe, where home prices are dropping after a decade of rapid growth. The damage is limited, however, by intercontinental differences. High interest rates and shaken confidence are catching up to prices in France, Ireland, and particularly Spain, where new home construction had spurred...

Expected Fed Rate Cut Could Halt Crisis

Wall Street counting on help to boost falling stock prices

(Newser) - What happens next in the volatile world stock markets could depend on Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke. The Fed is expected to cut the interest rates banks charge each other for overnight loans, currently 5.25%. It would make loans cheaper, boost consumer spending, revive stock prices and ultimately, prevent...

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