mortgage

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Billionaire Takes Huge Stake in Bear Stearns

Josephe Lewis becomes largest shareholder with $860M buy

(Newser) - Billionaire Joseph C. Lewis has bought enough stock to become the largest single shareholder in embattled investment bank Bear Stearns, Reuters reports. The reclusive British-born currency trader bought up $860.4 million in shares over the last month, nabbing a 7% stake. Putnam Investing, the second largest shareholder, owns a...

Recession Risk Seen in Mortgage Misery

Top economist urges immediate rate cuts to avoid catstrophe

(Newser) - Mortgage woes could spark a serious recession, a prominent economist said yesterday. National Bureau of Economic Research President Martin Feldstein said that interest rates must be slashed heavily and quickly, or declining prices and weakening home equity withdrawal could hobble the economy, Reuters reports.

Freddie Mac Posts 45% Net Drop
Freddie Mac Posts 45%
Net Drop
Aug 30, 2007 9:51 AM CDT

Freddie Mac Posts 45% Net Drop

Mortgage giant sees $320 million loss on new mortgages in Q2

(Newser) - Freddie Mac posted a 45% drop in net income for the second quarter, and said the outlook wasn't rosy for the third. The home-mortgage financier was hit with a $320 million loss on new mortgages. Freddie Mac doesn't buy subprimes directly, but is still affected by the general mortgage turmoil.

Home Prices Show Record Drop
Home Prices Show Record Drop
Aug 28, 2007 11:21 AM CDT

Home Prices Show Record Drop

Consumer confidence off too; the credit market is to blame, again

(Newser) - The credit market is continuing to weigh on economic indicators, Bloomberg reports, as home prices and consumer confidence both notched records in their downward swoon. A report released today showed home values down an unprecedented 3.2% in the second quarter. Consumer confidence this month fell to its lowest levels...

US Median Home Price to Drop
US Median Home Price
to Drop
Aug 26, 2007 3:08 PM CDT

US Median Home Price to Drop

Projected 1-2% decline for 2007 would be the first since 1950

(Newser) - The median cost of an American home, now $220,000, is expected to drop this year for the first time since tracking began in 1950, reports the New York Times. The decline will be modest—1 to 2%—but could last into 2008 and 2009, meaning that, adjusting for inflation,...

Condo Crash Is Just Beginning
Condo Crash
Is Just
Beginning
Aug 25, 2007 11:40 AM CDT

Condo Crash Is Just Beginning

Glut of new units and failing contracts yet to peak

(Newser) - Mortgage lenders are about to be hit with another wave of foreclosures and bankruptcies, the Journal reports, as the crisis kicks in in condo market. Because buildings take years to complete, even after buyers have signed contracts, the effect of declining property values and tight credit are slower to talk...

World Markets Climb After Countrywide Stock Sale

US futures also up as worries cool

(Newser) - Markets climbed worldwide after Bank of America invested $2 billion in Countrywide, giving the mortgage lender a desperately needed injection of cash and proving some appetite is left as subprime mortgages continue to rot. Barclays in the U.K., Mitsubishi in Japan, and Countrywide itself in Europe all saw major...

Smaller Lenders Feel the Credit Squeeze

Boutique banks on the edge as liquidity crisis wears on

(Newser) - As the subprime fallout continues and the credit squeeze tightens, thousands of smaller-scale mortgage banks find themselves in dire straits. The Wall Street Journal reports that small- and medium-sized lenders, even those with excellent credit quality, are suspending funding and laying off employees, which leaves giant corporations to grab more...

Biggest Buyers Hit Hard in Mortgage Fiasco

‘Jumbo’ loans dry up as subprime mess continues to spread

(Newser) - As the subprime mortgage mess spreads to homeowners beyond those with poor credit ratings, jumbo mortgages are under particular pressure, the New York Times reports. An investment banker recently purchasing a $1.5 million home saw the interest rate spike from 8% to 13% in just three days. The rate...

Countrywide Reeling From Mortgage Woes

No. 1 mortgage company warns investors of 'unprecedented disruptions'

(Newser) - The nation's largest mortgage lender has warned that troubles in the subprime credit market have led to "unprecedented disruptions" that will hurt their bottom line. The Los Angeles Times reports that Countrywide is steeling its investors for bad news: in a suddenly illiquid market the already-troubled company has been...

Mortgage Crisis Hits Affluent Buyers, Too

Even borrowers with excellent credit are now facing higher rates

(Newser) - Mortgage tremors have rippled so far across the home loan market that even buyers of high-priced homes with good credit records are now being squeezed, the Wall Street Journal reports. Rates have surged on loans above $417,000 for prime borrowers—to 7.34% for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, up...

Builders' Loans Pushed Credit Meltdown

Peddling dubious mortgages to move properties helped burst bubble

(Newser) - In the ongoing post-mortem of the housing boom, BusinessWeek turns an acute eye on developers, especially big, publicly traded builders who jumped into the mortgage business to move people into their newly built houses faster. As demand for new homes began to fizzle, they kept sales brisk by offering adjustable-rate...

American Home Mortgage Closes Its Doors

ARM specialist's efforts can't hold off fallout from worsening crisis

(Newser) - The battered mortgage-lending industry will suffer another blow today as American Home Mortgage shuts down, making it the latest company to go under as home loans go bad across the country. AHM's troubles were common knowledge, the Times reports, but the speed of its downfall was unexpected. “We have...

Banks Tighten Credit Squeeze
Banks Tighten Credit Squeeze
Aug 3, 2007 4:38 AM CDT

Banks Tighten Credit Squeeze

Lenders 'raising rates like crazy'

(Newser) - Lenders are cutting credit, tightening standards or raising interest rates to a broader range of borrowers beyond those with weak credit records who qualify for subprime loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. Panic is spreading to a category of mortgages between subprime and prime that often involves borrowers who don't...

Subprime Woes Rock Another Bear Stearns Fund

Withdrawals blocked, rumors swirl as market slips further

(Newser) - Bear Stearns has blocked withdrawals from a mortgage investment fund amid Wall Street jitters over the crisis in high-risk subprime mortgages, the Wall Street Journal reports. Two Bear Stearns hedge funds heavily invested in subprime mortgages collapsed in June, and now another fund, which has only a tiny fraction of...

Home Resales Slump in June as Mortgage Rates Spike

Inventories are down; prices jump

(Newser) - Sales of existing homes dropped in June to a 5-year low because of rising mortgage rates and stricter lending standards. Home resales dipped 3.8% from a 5.98 million annual rate in May to a 5.75 million rate now. "The housing recession looks far from over,"...

Best Places to Call Home 2007
Best Places to Call Home 2007
Jul 17, 2007 4:02 PM CDT

Best Places to Call Home 2007

Money mag looks to the Midwest for the cream—or should that be cheese?—of the crop

(Newser) - Some places have it all: affordable, good schools, job opportunities, family friendly, and plenty of stuff to do. Money magazine is out with its annual list of the best places to live in America. The top 10:
  1. Middleton, Wisc.
  2. Hanover, NH
  3. Louisville, Colo.
  4. Lake Mary, Fla.
  5. Claremont, Calif.

New Flood of Foreclosures Looms
New Flood of Foreclosures Looms
Jul 10, 2007 5:24 AM CDT

New Flood of Foreclosures Looms

Adjustable borrowers face up to 35% spikes in mortgage payments

(Newser) - When adjustable-rate mortgages are increased this year, hundreds of thousands of subprime borrowers  could lose their homes, triggering a precipitous drop in the housing market, CNNMoney reports. The threat is the latest in the emerging subprime loan crisis. Heartland industrial areas, as well as once-hot markets in California, Nevada and...

Scams Target Delinquent Homeowners
Scams Target Delinquent Homeowners
Jul 3, 2007 5:45 PM CDT

Scams Target Delinquent Homeowners

'Equity strippers' deceive borrowers behind on their mortgage payments

(Newser) - A new form of fraud is thriving in the declining housing market, targeting desperate homeowners who are late on their mortgage payments. Known as equity strippers, companies cold-call burdened borrowers, promising a reprieve from their financial woes. In the end, they profit, and the owners end up losing their  home...

Bad US Loans Sink London Hedge Fund
Bad US Loans Sink London Hedge Fund
Jun 29, 2007 4:26 AM CDT

Bad US Loans Sink London Hedge Fund

Subprime mortgage crisis ripples through world market

(Newser) -  A London hedge fund is the latest casualty of the US subprime mortgage crisis that has already hit American investment companies, the Financial Times reports. After losing 53% of its value, Caliber Global Investment will sell its assets and try to repay $900 million to investors over the next...

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