U.S. Gears Up for Major Reforms of Financial Rescue Package
The face of the U.S. government's financial rescue package will likely change on Monday when U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is expected to make some major announcements detailing how the remaining funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program…(read more)

Rates Retreat; Homeowners Continue Refinance Frenzy
Mortgage rates moved downward last week after three straight weeks of increases. According to the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, average rates for the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) during the week ended February…(read more)

Senate Passes $828 Billion Stimulus Bill
Despite strong Republican opposition, the Senate voted 61-37 in favour of an $828 billion fiscal stimulus package on Tuesday. The victory is but another hurdle in the lengthy negotiations on Capitol Hill that has resulted in a sharp criticism between…(read more)

Decline in Commercial Originations Accelerates
Commercial mortgage originations last year fell 60 percent from 2007, according to a report from the Mortgage Bankers Association. Commercial production during the last quarter of 2008 tumbled 80 percent from a year earlier. By comparison, commercial volume during the fourth-quarter 2007 dropped only 16 percent from the same quarter in 2006.

Mortgage Fraud Cases Double
The number of open mortgage fraud investigations was 1,600 during fiscal 2008, according to an FBI transcript of prepared testimony by an FBI deputy director. The caseload nearly doubled from 2006. Last year’s investigations were handled by 180 special agents, up from 120 in fiscal 2007.

Fed begins 2-day meeting
The Federal Reserve’s rate-setting panel gathers today and tomorrow and it is expected that interest rates will remain the same.

23-year-old earning $180k seeks advice
A graduate earning $180,000 has several options for places to stash all that newly earned cash.

Rent-to-own can work
Agents aren’t fond of lease-purchase deals, but they can work if they protect the buyer and seller.

Figuring depreciation recapture
Depreciation recapture on the sale of real property can be offset by capital losses.

U.S. Home Ownership Rate Falls to 7-Year Low
The number of Americans who own their own home fell to a seven-year low in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to a year ago, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday. The rate of home ownership fell to 67.5% in the fourth quarter, down from 67.8% during…(read more)

‘Bad Bank’ Plan Dropped from Rescue Package, CNBC Reports
CNBC is reporting that the Obama administration's financial rescue plan no longer includes the creation of a "bad bank", though still contains measures to buy up toxic assets. Citing a source familiar with the plan, CNBC reported that the…(read more)

MBA Mortgage Applications Move Higher in Week Ending Jan. 30
Weekly mortgage applications in the United States rose in the week ending Jan. 30, according to data released from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which reported an 8.6% week-over-week increase in applications. In the previous…(read more)

Treasury Will Back up to $1 Trillion in Toxic Assets
Up to $1.0 trillion in insurance financing for the purchase of toxic assets was announced by the U.S. Treasury on Tuesday. For its part, the Federal Reserve announced the expansion of the Fed lending facility, the TALF - to include up to another $1.0…(read more)

Credit Card Delinquencies at Record High, Says Fitch
U.S. credit card delinquencies reached all-time highs in January on the back of ongoing deteriorating conditions in the U.S. economy, according to a study released by Fitch on Thursday. The rate of payments missed by more than 60 days advanced 0.47 percentage…(read more)

Reports Say Insurance Financing of Toxic Debt Cornerstone of Financial Rescue Plan
The U.S. Treasury's financial rescue package includes up to $500 billion in insurance financing for the purchase of toxic assets and the expansion of a Fed lending facility backing a variety of consumer debt, according to CNBC. Citing sources familiar…(read more)

Unemployed? Hoard cash
If you’re unemployed, use your credit card on essentials to save cash but don’t take cash advances.

MBA Mortgage Applications Move Higher in Week Ending Jan. 30
Weekly mortgage applications in the United States rose in the week ending Jan. 30, according to data released from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which reported an 8.6% week-over-week increase in applications. In the previous…(read more)

U.S. Regulatory System Stressed
The existing financial regulatory framework has not kept pace with major developments in U.S. financial markets, a report from the Government Accounting Office said. Increasingly complex retail mortgage and credit products have challenged regulators and investors alike. The 150-year-old U.S. financial regulatory system was described as “a fragmented and complex arrangement of federal and state regulators.”

U.S. Home Ownership Rate Falls to 7-Year Low
The number of Americans who own their own home fell to a seven-year low in the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to a year ago, the Census Bureau reported Wednesday. The rate of home ownership fell to 67.5% in the fourth quarter, down from 67.8% during…(read more)

Refi problems top agenda
I’m looking at whether people are having trouble refinancing because second lienholders are reluctant to resubordinate.

U.S. Gearing Up for Major Update on Financial Rescue Plans
A key announcement from the U.S. Treasury Department early next week could change the face of the U.S. financial system with markets expecting revisions to the TARP, and the possible creation of a new body that would buy toxic assets from ailing U.S….(read more)

Fed begins 2-day meeting
The Federal Reserve’s rate-setting panel gathers today and tomorrow and it is expected that interest rates will remain the same.

Auto Q&A: Dealer doesn’t owe ‘downsizing’
You can’t expect a dealer to take back a big car and put you in a smaller one just because you can’t afford what you bought.

JPMorgan Selected as Custodian for Fed’s MBS Repurchase Program
The U.S. Federal Reserve has hired JPMorgan Chase as its custodian to run the central bank's purchase of up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities as part of the Fed's quantitative easing strategy to liquidate the U.S. financial system…(read more)

Bankers slam “cramdown.”
It looks like the mortgage industry has accepted that mortgage cramdown is coming, and will lobby Congress to limit it.

U.S. Senator Gregg Accepts Commerce Secretary Nomination
Republican Senator Judd Gregg has accepted an offer from the White House to become the new U.S. Commerce Secretary on Monday on the condition that his replacement in New Hampshire also be a Republican, he said. On Monday, news that President Barack Obama…(read more)

Closing a secured card account
Closing a secured-card account may not hurt your FICO score, depending on your available- to used-credit ratio.

Inherited bond may come with tax bill
A woman who inherited a Series HH bond from her aunt is likely to owe taxes on deferred interest.

U.S. Gears Up for Major Reforms of Financial Rescue Package
The face of the U.S. government's financial rescue package will likely change on Monday when U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is expected to make some major announcements detailing how the remaining funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program…(read more)

JPMorgan Selected as Custodian for Fed’s MBS Repurchase Program
The U.S. Federal Reserve has hired JPMorgan Chase as its custodian to run the central bank's purchase of up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities as part of the Fed's quantitative easing strategy to liquidate the U.S. financial system…(read more)

Fed begins 2-day meeting
The Federal Reserve’s rate-setting panel gathers today and tomorrow and it is expected that interest rates will remain the same.

Class Action Tsunami
A class action was announced against Bank of America Corp. and some of its executives by Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP. The defendants are accused of violating the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by issuing materially false and misleading statements about the company’s operational and financial results. A group of Washington borrowers filed a lawsuit in against BoA subsidiary Countrywide, a press release last month from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro said. A class action was filed against Triad Guaranty Inc. and its former CEO, Coughlin Stoia announced.

MBA Mortgage Applications Move Higher in Week Ending Jan. 30
Weekly mortgage applications in the United States rose in the week ending Jan. 30, according to data released from the Mortgage Bankers' Association (MBA) on Wednesday, which reported an 8.6% week-over-week increase in applications. In the previous…(read more)

The Cramdown Journal
Bankruptcy cramdowns as proposed by Congress could result in pro-rata principal losses to some senior securities that might otherwise be immune to traditional credit losses, Standard & Poor’s Raitings Services said in a report last month. But the ratings agency noted that cramdown losses might be comparable to traditional modification losses. Moody’s Investors Service reported that a number of uncertainties exist about potential cramdown legislation, including the language of any final law, judicial interpretation and actions by mortgage servicers who may be motivated to increase voluntary loan modifications. A weekly RMBS trading desk strategy newsletter from Bank of America said that the proposed bankruptcy cramdown bill is a destabilizing development for the market.

U.S. Gears Up for Major Reforms of Financial Rescue Package
The face of the U.S. government's financial rescue package will likely change on Monday when U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is expected to make some major announcements detailing how the remaining funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program…(read more)

Citigroup Unveils Plans to Lend $36.5 Billion to Promote Consumer Borrowing
In an effort to pass the benefits of the TARP onto the real economy, Citigroup unveiled plans to spend $36.5 billion in a series of new initiatives to spur credit card, mortgage and other consumer and business lending operations. The aims of the initiatives…(read more)

Falling Home Prices Boost Home Sales Across the Country
Home sales rose in 56 markets across the United States in December, according to a monthly housing report released Monday. The December average of home sales were up 9.73% in December from the previous month, and up 11.36% from the same period a year…(read more)

Why closing an account hurts score
Understanding how the credit score model works will help you maintain a good score.

Bankers slam “cramdown.”
It looks like the mortgage industry has accepted that mortgage cramdown is coming, and will lobby Congress to limit it.

Inflation fears behind rate rise?
Mortgage rates went up this week, with the average 30-year fixed rising 31 basis points, to 5.59 percent.

Is the FHA a garbage can?
A reader asks “What is the difference between FHA and Fannie Mae?”

Share gas expenses with teen
This month’s Frugal Sense winner is using the family car to teach her daughter important financial lessons.

Bankers slam “cramdown.”
It looks like the mortgage industry has accepted that mortgage cramdown is coming, and will lobby Congress to limit it.

Falling Home Prices Boost Home Sales Across the Country
Home sales rose in 56 markets across the United States in December, according to a monthly housing report released Monday. The December average of home sales were up 9.73% in December from the previous month, and up 11.36% from the same period a year…(read more)

Lenders Plead for Help on Warehouse Lending
The president and chief executive officer of the Mortgage Bankers Association testified before lawmakers that many of the trade group’s independent members have been hamstrung from the lack of available warehouse lines-of-credit from commercial banks, according to a transcript of his prepared testimony. He said warehouse lending capacity has gone from $200 billion in 2007 to around $23 billion last year. “For the originator that depends solely on warehouse lines-of-credit, this reduction could reduce liquidity, extinguish their lending business, and adversely impact the consumers in their market,” he said.

U.S. Gearing Up for Major Update on Financial Rescue Plans
A key announcement from the U.S. Treasury Department early next week could change the face of the U.S. financial system with markets expecting revisions to the TARP, and the possible creation of a new body that would buy toxic assets from ailing U.S….(read more)

Refi problems top agenda
I’m looking at whether people are having trouble refinancing because second lienholders are reluctant to resubordinate.

Mortgage Rates Largely Unchanged for Week
Mortgage rates this week were steady, moving only slightly up or down if at all. Results from the Primary Mortgage Market Survey released by Freddie Mac Thursday morning showed that the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 5.10 percent with 0.7…(read more)