Q&A: Atlanata Fed’s Altig on Small Business’s Potential to Derail Recovery
In recent weeks, policy makers from President Barack Obama to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have been taking extraordinary measures to remove what they see as a serious impediment to the recovery: A dearth of credit for the small businesses that many economists say must play a leading role in creating new jobs. David Altig [...]
China’s Stocks Drop as CPI Climbs to 16-Month High; SAIC Falls
China’s stocks fell to a one-week low, led by automakers and developers, after inflation accelerated and new loans exceeded forecasts, boosting the prospect for higher interest rates….(read more)
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Pimco’s El-Erian Says Public Finance Shock May Deepen (Update3)
Mohamed A. El-Erian, whose company runs the world’s biggest mutual fund, said deteriorating public finances may affect the global economy more than is currently realized….(read more)
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Senate passes $149 bln for jobless aid, tax breaks
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate on Wednesday passed a $149 billion package of jobless aid and tax breaks, as Democrats continued efforts to lower the 9.7 percent unemployment rate before congressional elections in November….(read more)
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The Short Run Elasticity of Housing Supply
Casey B. Mulligan submits: The elasticity of housing supply is the effect on the flow of home building (measured as a log change — think of it as a percentage change) of the inflation-adjusted purchase price of housing (also measured as a log change). The elasticity has long been studied in economics; one of the [...]
FHA considers down payment requirements
The Federal Housing Administration has concluded that its loan volume would have dipped by 40 percent in the next fiscal year and that 300,000 first-time home buyers would have been shut out of the housing market if it had raised its down payment requirements, as critics have pressured it to do, ……(read more)
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Reality Check for Bank Investors, Mortgage Investors and Home Buyers
Reggie Middleton submits: Last week I posted a Bloomberg news article supporting my suspicions that investors are putting bad loans back to the banks at an increasing rate. I used JP Morgan ( JPM ) as a specific example – Banks Swallow Another $30 billion or So in More Losses as Their Share Prices Surge [...]
The Economic Drag of Mortgage Deficiencies’ Long Tail
Michael Steinberg submits: You can get whipsawed by the politicians, economists and media predictions of the housing bottom and recovery. Most of the government’s foreclosure prevention programs have unquestionably failed. But the GSE 30-year mortgage security spread over 10-year treasuries is hovering at a record low 63 basis points . And investors are outbidding owner-occupiers [...]
3/10/10–American Banker on 2nd Liens, Home Lending Portfolio, Mortgage Insurers
An interesting article in American Banker this morning touches on the confounding question of how and why 2nd liens continue to perform as well as they have performed. The full article can be found here . "According to Lender Processing Services Inc., the 30-to-89-day delinquency rate on home equity loans held by depositories slid from [...]
Bank Padlocked Wrong House and Took Parrot
Bank of America apologized after its local contractor entered the home of a mortgage borrower when she was away, cut off utilities, padlocked the door and confiscated her pet parrot, Luke….(read more)
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More: Short Sales and 2nd liens
This is a follow up on the previous post on short sales and 2nd liens . (the previous post had excerpts from the NY Times, Short-Sale Program to Pay Homeowners to Sell at a Loss and WSJ Home-Saving Loans Afoot ) Just to be clear on what subordinate lien holders will receive under a HAFA [...]
Report: HAMP Modification Conversion Rate at about 33%
From Shahien Nasiripour at the Huffington Post: Obama Foreclosure-Prevention Plan Lagging, New Data Shows Only about a third of the homeowners who have successfully completed the trial period of the Obama administration's mortgage modification program have been offered permanent relief, according to new federal data obtained by the Huffington Post. The conversion rate — about [...]
Unemployment Rates, by State: Most Regions Added Jobs in January
See the full interactive graphic. Thirty states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate increases in January from a month earlier, while states registered rate decreases, the Labor Department said. But in a sign the job market is inching toward recovery 31 states added jobs in the first month of the year. In January, [...]
Can Your iPhone Tell You Which House to Buy?
For those seeking bargains in today’s bombed-out housing market, it helps to have strong nerves and a big wad of cash. Getty Images But do you also need a fancy cellphone? As I write in today’s Journal , real estate brokers and software firms are rushing out all kinds of applications, or “apps,” designed to [...]
California Homeownership Without Mortgage Payments: Homeowner Associations Pay For California Mortgage Moratoriums
While some people struggle to keep their mortgage payments current, others are living in their houses for free. Not only are they not making mortgage payments but they are being offered incentives when they don't….(read more)
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Citigroup Selling TruPS After Repaying Bailout: Credit Markets
Citigroup Inc., seeking capital after repaying bailout funds to the Treasury, is selling trust preferred securities as rising investor demand drives borrowing costs to near the lowest in almost five years….(read more)
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Safety Insurance Group’s Q4 Results: Positives and Negatives
Dean Morel submits: Safety Insurance Group Inc. ( SAFT ) the second largest private passenger insurer in Massachusetts, reported Q4 2009 earnings in-line with analysts expectations of $0.93 (see conference call transcript here ). The results are better than a quick glance conveys as the headline numbers appear disappointing due to the one off settlement [...]
The Argument For Mortgage Principal Reduction
Big surprise that yesterday's blog garnered quite a few responses, not just on the page, but from folks here in DC who are involved in all those closed-door negotiations at Administration office buildings….(read more)
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Vacant High Rise Condo Units
A couple of articles about vacant or near vacant high rise condo towers in Florida … From the News-Press: Sole occupant of 32-story Fort Myers condo wants out (ht several) Victor Vangelakos is the only buyer to take possession of his unit in the 32-story Tower 1 of the Oasis high-rise project in downtown Fort [...]
Tuesday Reads
An eclectic brew of reads today: • One Year Later… ( Market Talk ) • Lessons NOT to learn from anniversaries ( Marketwatch ) • 43% have less than $10k for retirement ( CNN/Money ) • Europe bars Wall Street banks from government bond sales ( Guardian ) • Why every nation cooks its books [...]
Young Adults Fret Over Jobs, Haven’t Lost Hope
Young people are worried about losing their jobs and paying their bills, but they’re still holding out hope that conditions will improve. Some 60% of 18- to 29-year-olds said they were worried about paying their bills and meeting other obligations in this economy as fear of job loss still looms large, a new poll by [...]
Home Buyers Check Out Apps
Just in time for the spring house-hunting season, smart-phone applications that provide information to home buyers are proliferating….(read more)
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Forget Granite Countertops, Here Comes Electric-Vehicle Charging
Charging up the car in the garage might seem like something from the Jetsons cartoon, but builder KB Home is making that a reality Tuesday. The company now offers the option to pre-wire homes to accommodate electric-vehicle charging stations, the latest option from a builder known for plenty of choices. This isn’t exactly a granite [...]
J.P. Morgan: Foreclosure Sales Could Be Higher in Three Years
Efforts to modify loans and delay foreclosures may have helped hold down the stock of foreclosures for sale in the second half of 2009, fostering home-price stabilization. But that cure could require different medicine: an elevated level of foreclosures for sale over the next three years. Analysts from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. are forecasting [...]
Shiller: Should We Keep Subsidizing the Housing Market?
Is the government’s massive support of homeownership nothing more than a “sacred cow in American society?” asks Robert Shiller in the New York Times this weekend. The Yale University housing economist explored America’s long-standing relationship with, and affinity for, homeownership by asking readers to consider the long-term justification for the government’s support of the housing [...]
