mortgage

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Frank Targets Fannie, Freddie Execs' Bonuses

(Newser) - Executives at government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are scheduled to receive six-figure retention bonuses, but Barney Frank wants the payments canceled, MarketWatch reports. “In this troubled economy, and in this job market, it is difficult to imagine that the companies would not be able to find...

Mortgages Won't Go Any Lower
 Mortgages Won't Go Any Lower 
Analysis
Mar 20, 2009 8:48 AM CDT

Mortgages Won't Go Any Lower

(Newser) - The extraordinary measures the Fed has taken to reduce long-term mortgage rates may have hit their limits. Lenders are now quoting an average rate of 4.75% on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, and that’s probably as cheap as it’s going to get, says James Hagerty of the Wall Street ...

Dodd Weakened by Outcry Over AIG Bonuses

Confusion over Conn. senator's role adds to mounting woes

(Newser) - The financial crisis has exacted a political toll on Sen. Chris Dodd few would have seen coming. The veteran senator, elected in 1980, now trails his challenger by 1%, reports the Hill. Resentment of VIP mortgages he received was already hurting him. Dodd’s fumbled explanations of his role in...

Plummeting Mortgage Rates Near Record Low

Rate for 30-year mortgage again below 5%

(Newser) - Interest rates for fixed-rate mortgages decreased this week, with the rate for a 30-year mortgage falling 0.05% to an average 4.98%, near January’s record low of 4.96%, MarketWatch reports. Thirty- and 15-year mortgage rates are down nearly a full percentage point from a year ago. The...

Playgrounds of Rich and Famous Hit the Skids

What would Jay Gatsby say?

(Newser) - Even crème de la crème communities are curdling in the current crisis, reports the Telegraph. Take the Hamptons, where nearly as many homes were being foreclosed last week as the number of places sold. Residents in the super-affluent towns on Long Island's east end are struggling to meet...

Freddie Seeks $31B in Aid After Posting Big Loss

(Newser) - Freddie Mac said today it will ask the government for nearly $31 billion in additional aid after posting a gargantuan loss of more than $50 billion last year as the US housing market worsened. The mortgage finance company posted a loss of $23.9 billion, or $7.37 per share,...

Banks Have Gotten a Bum Rap: BofA Chief Ken Lewis

The steps already taken are working, so let the market sort it out

(Newser) - Banks have been unfairly tarred by misconceptions about the current financial crisis, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis argues in the Wall Street Journal. It's not true that banks aren't lending, he writes. They are just doing so more responsibly, as they should. And it's not true that bad banks...

Borrowers Now Flocking to the Feds to Default on Loans

Same cause of subprime mess blamed for new threats to taxpayers

(Newser) - History is repeating itself, and taxpayers will be footing the bill for it: Flawed lending practices are enabling borrowers to receive mortgage loans they can’t repay—but this time, Washington’s involved, the Washington Post reports. Many of the loans provided by the Federal Housing Administration default after just...

House Homeowner Bill Lets Judges Reset Mortgages

Measure would allow bankruptcy judges to ease mortgage terms

(Newser) - The House has passed a homeowner rescue bill over the strenuous objections of the financial industry that would allow bankruptcy judges to change the terms of mortgages, the Washington Post reports. Judges could cut the principal on mortgages, extend terms and reduce interest rates under terms of the "cramdown"...

White House Starts Mortgage Rescue Plan

(Newser) - The White House today kicked off its $75 billion plan to curb mortgage foreclosures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The federal dollars will both push lenders to lower monthly payments and help homeowners keep paying. “Today, we are providing servicers with the details they need to begin helping eligible...

1 in 5 Homeowners Underwater
 1 in 5 Homeowners Underwater 
Mar 4, 2009 10:17 AM CST

1 in 5 Homeowners Underwater

(Newser) - More than 20% of Americans with home mortgages owe more to their lenders than their homes are worth, a 2% rise since September, the Washington Post reports. The hardest-hit state was Nevada, where 55% of homeowners with mortgages have negative equity. These 8.3 million homeowners nationwide are much more...

Citi Offers Jobless Lower Mortgage Payments

Recently unemployed can drop payments to average of $500

(Newser) - Citigroup is announcing a new program easing mortgage payments to an average of $500 a month for homeowners who have lost their jobs and fallen behind on their debts, reports the Wall Street Journal. Borrowers will be allowed to make the lower payments for 3 months and will pay no...

Foreclosure-Relief Bill Stalls Before House Vote

(Newser) - Legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to reduce the principal on mortgages of homes in danger of foreclosure will not come up for its scheduled House vote today because Democratic infighting has broken out, endangering its passage, CQ Politics reports. The “cramdown” provision was a red flag for fiscal...

Gap Narrows Between Mortgage Payments, Rents

Housing slump prompts shift

(Newser) - During the housing boom, mortgage payments held steady, consistently topping rent levels; now, with the market cratering, they’re returning to historical levels, the Wall Street Journal reports. After-tax mortgage payments averaged about 26% more than rent over the past 18 years; during the boom that figure surged to 66%....

Tough Job Selling Mortgage Bailout to Bill-Paying Public

Even Democrats are wary of bailout

(Newser) - President Obama may be facing a mutiny on his mortgage bailout plan. After CNBC reporter Rick Santelli’s on-air rant about the bailout "promoting bad behavior" by rewarding losers, Obama’s spokesman swatted the criticism away. But, Politico reports, public opinion is leaning in Santelli's direction—even 49% of...

Stocks Mixed; Dow Up 3 Points
 Stocks Mixed; Dow Up 3 Points 
MARKETS
Feb 18, 2009 3:17 PM CST

Stocks Mixed; Dow Up 3 Points

Greenspan comments on nationalization keep financials down

(Newser) - Stocks vacillated between minor gains and losses today, perking up slightly after President Obama announced his housing plan, MarketWatch reports. Financials continued to slide after Alan Greenspan suggested in a Financial Times interview that bank nationalization would be the “least bad” way to solve the crisis. The Dow gained...

Obama Unveils 3-Part, $275B Mortgage Plan

(Newser) - Barack Obama announced in Mesa, Ariz., today a three-pronged plan to revamp the mortgage market, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plan offers opportunities for 9  million homeowners to refinance or rework their mortgages. Five million borrowers facing foreclosure will have access to a $75 billion fund, and another 4...

$50B Obama Plan Aims to Give Homeowners Options

Administration to enable cuts in monthly payments, refinancing

(Newser) - Today the Obama administration unveils its plan to help struggling homeowners with cuts in monthly payments, more possibilities for refinancing, and changed bankruptcy rules.  Its central plank is a $50 billion subsidy for mortgage companies to make home loans more affordable. As the Wall Street Journal reports, economists are...

US May Subsidize Lenders Who Cut Mortgage Rates

(Newser) - Details are emerging on the Obama administration's plan to help homeowners: One idea is to give strapped borrowers a lower interest rate, then have the federal government chip in to defray the lenders' loss, the Washington Post reports. The Treasury Department is expected to outline its overall plan in the...

Stocks Mixed, Dow Down 6.7
 Stocks Mixed, Dow Down 6.7 
MARKETS
Feb 12, 2009 3:25 PM CST

Stocks Mixed, Dow Down 6.7

Obama mortgage plan helps stocks recover

(Newser) - Stocks ended mixed today, recovering from sharp losses on reports that the Obama administration is planning a program to subsidize mortgage payments for some homeowners, the Wall Street Journal reports. Nonetheless, continued uncertainty over how the Treasury’s rescue plan will value the so-called “toxic” assets kept bank stocks...

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