Apartment Complexes May Benefit From FCC Action Against Cable Contracts
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007Consumers, at least those who live in large apartment
complexes, may be poised to win one for a change if an article
by Stephen Labaton published in The New York Times on Monday is
correct.
According to the Times report, the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) is considering striking down exclusive contracts
between cable companies and apartment building owners and…
ONeal is History and Merrill Lynch is Sued
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007As was widely expected on Monday, Merrill Lynch &
Company Tuesday morning announced the “immediate retirement” of
Stan O’Neal as the company’s Chief Executive Officer.
In other news, an investor lawsuit has been filed
against Merrill Lynch & Co contending that the company issued false and
misleading statements regarding its exposure to risky mortgage
investments, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said on Tuesday.
Facing foreclosure, finding solutions
Monday, October 29th, 2007Mortgage companies say that the last thing they want to do is foreclose, because seizing a delinquen
Subprimes Next Victim: Merrill Lynch CEO
Monday, October 29th, 2007A death watch was underway on Wall Street on Monday as investors and
financial analysts waited for what was rumored to be the imminent
resignation or firing of Stan O’Neal as CEO of
Merrill Lynch & Company.
Mr. O’Neal, architect of
his company’s plunge into the sub- prime mortgage market
announced last week that…
Credit Counselors and Short Sales May Bail Out Mortgagors
Monday, October 29th, 2007Several weeks ago we wrote two-parts of a three-part series on
foreclosure fraud, i.e. scams perpetrated against
troubled homeowners ostensibly to help them save their house or at least
avoid legal action but are actually intended to strip off the home’s
equity or take legal title to the property.
While it is pretty depressing to see the lengths to which some people
will go to profit from another’s misfortune, there are people who do
legitimately seek to rescue homeowners who are
delinquent on their payments.
Subprime Fallout Will Cost U.S. Billions
Friday, October 26th, 2007There were some pretty scary statistics swirling
around Capitol Hill on Thursday as the Joint Economic Committee (JEC)
released a report attaching dollar figures to the impact of the subprime
mortgage fallout.
The report, entitled “The Subprime Lending
Crisis: The Economic Impact on Wealth, Property Values and Tax Revenues,
and How We Got There” estimates that…
Countrywide Mortgage Reports Huge 3rd Quarter Loss
Friday, October 26th, 2007Countrywide Financial Corp, the largest mortgage
lender in the nation announced, before the stock marketed opened on
Friday, that it is posting a loss of 1.2 billion for the third quarter of
2007 because of millions it had to set aside in loan loss provisions,
write downs, and lowered loan values.
This was the first quarterly loss posted by Countrywide in 25
years.
Corporate spokespeople, including President Angelo
Mozilo however, were upbeat, saying that…
September New Home Sales Report is Modestly Upbeat
Thursday, October 25th, 2007There was the tiniest ray of sunshine in the September New Residential
Sales Report issued on Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Good news is usually relative but in the current environment most of
us take what we can get and the news that new home sales
in September were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000, an
increase of…
Freddie Mac and MBA See Mortgage Rates Through Different Lenses
Thursday, October 25th, 2007It was one of those weeks when one had to wonder if Freddie Mac and
the Mortgage Bankers Association were operating in the same universe. The
former presented results of its weekly survey indicating that
mortgage rates were dead in the water while the latter
reported substantial interest rate declines for all products.
“Both economic indicators and mortgage rates came in mixed this week,”
said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief
economist…
NAR Releases Existing Home Sales Figures For September
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 The NAR report blamed the sales decline on temporary problems in the
mortgage market which disrupted sales and distorted prices on sales
closed during the month. Lawrence Yun, NAR’s senior economist, said the
numbers are understandable. “Mortgage problems
were…”