Guaranty Mortgage

Citigroup Inc. has agreed to acquire Wachovia Bank. The deal was brokered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. “Wachovia did not fail; rather, it is to be acquired by Citigroup Inc. on an open bank basis with assistance from the FDIC,” the statement said.

Agreement Reached on Bailout
An agreement has been reached on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, according to a analysis of the bill released by Congress. The bill would authorize the Troubled Asset Relief Program plan by the U.S. Treasury. Under the legislation, the Treasury can immediately purchase up to $250 billion in assets. With presidential certification, another $100 billion can be accessed. “The final $350 billion may be accessed if the president transmits a written report to Congress requesting such authority,” a congressional analysis stated. A vote on the bill could occur as early as this morning, according to one House staffer.

Get in the ring again, boys
Bernanke and Paulson have been invited to get in the ring against members of the House Financial Services Committee at 2:30 p.m. today, Eastern time.

Feds discuss bailout
This morning the heads of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve will ask the Senate Banking Committee to act with haste on the mortgage bailout.

Countrywide Forecloses on Wrong Property
In 2003, Countrywide Home Loans foreclosed on the Las Vegas condominium owned by an Arizona family. The lender hired local real estate professionals who entered the unit, changed all of the utilities, and then proceeded to “trash out” the family’s personal belongings. But they were current with their mortgage. Poor records management led to the wrongful foreclosure.

Bankrate car columnist Terry Jackson sets the record straight about two erroneous but persistent auto myths.

Heading off to college?
12 tips for stretching a scholar’s dollar.

Wacky offer could fleece car shopper
A nutty proposal could cost a car shopper big money, says Bankrate car columnist Terry Jackson.

The government is asking for $700 billion so it can pay top dollar for junk mortgage bonds, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says.

Get in the ring again, boys
Bernanke and Paulson have been invited to get in the ring against members of the House Financial Services Committee at 2:30 p.m. today, Eastern time.

Checking out options for your grill
These days you can add a rotisserie, smoker or even infrared.

Utility payment plans have some flaws
Equal payments may sound like a great idea, but watch out that you don’t get hit with a surprise bill at the end of the year.

The bailout and the clawback
The Bush administration’s mortgage bailout plan is brief, and is designed not to be punitive to the executives who made the poor decisions that brought us this mess.

Wacky offer could fleece car shopper
A nutty proposal could cost a car shopper big money, says Bankrate car columnist Terry Jackson.

A bailout on the layaway plan
It looks like the Brobdingnagian Bailout will work the same way as buying a pair of pants on a department store layaway plan.

Heading off to college?
12 tips for stretching a scholar’s dollar.

Weigh impact before canceling card
Canceling a credit card account may make sense, but it can temporarily hurt your FICO score, says Dr. Don Taylor.

A Frugal shopper’s best tip
Avoid the waste and environmental cost by making your own mop pads out of old washcloths.

Point 6.2 has been released, Calyx Software announced. The new version is fully compliant with changes to loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration that take effect on Oct. 1. ATLOS LLC said that its new Web-based mortgage loan processing and document management system enables originators to operate on cloud computing — where all borrower data is stored online instead of on paper or in the user’s computer. Mortgage Cadence Inc.’s Finale document solutions has been integrated with Ibis Software’s Reverse Mortgage Originator, an announcement said.

Senator Schumer Says Congress Bailout Plan to Come in Traunches
Appearing on CNBC, Senator Charles Schumer laid out the Congressional plan, which, if approved, would be delivered in instalments as opposed to the Treasury’s request for $700 billion. Schumer confirmed that the plan from Congress would see $250 billion approved upfront, with another $100 billion available if the President certifies that the financial emergency continues. Read More Now

JPMorgan Chase Acquires Washington Mutual for $1.9 billion
JPMorgan Chase has acquired Washington Mutual, a report from the company itself and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) said Thursday night. The FDIC called the transaction “simply a combination of two banks,” and said… Read More Now

Private Mortgage Insurer Changes Business Policy
MGIC Investment Corporation, one of the nation’s largest issuers of private mortgage insurance, announced on Friday that it plans to stop accepting new business under one type of contract that it now considers to present an unacceptable risk. Starting the first of the year MGIC will no longer take new business from “captive insurance companies.” Read More Now

Bailout Deal Possible by Next Week
It appears that some sort of agreement on the mortgage bailout package will eventually be reached and passed — possibly by this Sunday. A Treasury plan, as modified by the House and Senate Democrat and Republican negotiators on Friday, will be the basis from which any agreement will emerge. While it is not clear what changes will be made, the changes could range from adding another element to the plan — such as a new loan insurance component — to reducing the scope of the troubled asset purchase program.

Freddie Reorganizes
Freddie Mac has eliminated its chief business officer position, a statement today said. The move will leave the single family credit guarantee, multifamily sourcing and investments and capital markets businesses reporting directly to newly installed chief executive officer. Freddie’s chief financial officer is being replace, and its government and industry relations post is being eliminated. A new chief credit officer position will oversee all of Freddie’s credit management activities.

St. Louis Fed’ s Bullard Says Inflation and Growth Outlook Uncertain
Speaking on the U.S. economic outlook in Tennessee, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said his forecast on inflation and growth is uncertain in these times. “In times of magnified uncertainty, it may be unwise to attempt to guess the level of economic performance. That said, my sense is that the pace of growth in the U.S. economy over the second half of the year will be positive but slower than its pace over the first half of the year,” said Bullard in his speech. Read More Now

Appearing on CNBC, Senator Charles Schumer laid out the Congressional plan, which, if approved, would be delivered in instalments as opposed to the Treasury’s request for $700 billion. Schumer confirmed that the plan from Congress would see $250 billion approved upfront, with another $100 billion available if the President certifies that the financial emergency continues. Read More Now

The bailout and the clawback
The Bush administration’s mortgage bailout plan is brief, and is designed not to be punitive to the executives who made the poor decisions that brought us this mess.

Uncertainty Leads to Jump in Interest Rates
The near panic gripping Washington and most of the rest of the country served to stop the downward trend in mortgage interest rates which has been in play for the previous eight weeks when rates were either unchanged or declined. Read More Now

New Home Sales Fall 11.5% to Lowest Level Since January 1991
Adding to a slew of poor data from the U.S. on Thursday, new home sales in the U.S. fell much more than anticipated, dropping 11.5% in August to an annual pace of 460k, down from an upwardly revised pace of 520k in the prior month, according to the Commerce Department. The month-over-month decline marks the largest drop since November 2007, pushing the pace of sales to the slowest rate since January 1991. Read More Now

Global Recession in 2009 to be Followed by Recovery in 2010, TD Report Says
The world will head into a mild recession in 2009 before bouncing back the following year, says a new report released by TD Economics. The report added that while home prices will bottom out over the next 12 months and the worst of the financial firm failures in the U.S. will be over, don’t expect the economic situation to return to normal once the recovery occurs. Read More Now

Senator Shelby Says No Agreement Reached on U.S. Treasury’s Bailout Plan
Speaking after a meeting with President George W. Bush, Senator Richard Shelby said he does not think an agreement has been made on the $700 billion bailout plan proposed by the U.S. Treasury earlier this week. Read More Now

Double-Digit Decline in New Home Sales Suggests Turnaround is Months Away
August recorded a substantial decline in the pace of new home sales, even with the median price for a home falling 5.5% in the month. The pace of sales fell 11.5% over the month, pushing the annual rate of sales down to 460k from the 520k pace in July. Economists say sales aren’t expected to recover any time soon. Ian Pollick at TD Securities called the report “undeniably pessimistic,” especially as the pace of unsold homes rose to a 10.9-month supply. “This was an extremely weak report and there is no way to color it any other way,” he added. Read More Now

Feds to pay top dollar
The government is asking for $700 billion so it can pay top dollar for junk mortgage bonds, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says.

A suit was filed recently in federal court against GRP Financial Services Corp. The plaintiffs allege that they executed closing documents with IndyMac Financial Services that provided for the payment of their outstanding credit card debt directly from escrow. However, they allege documents were fraudulently altered, including a “cut-and-paste” of their signatures onto a bogus settlement statement. IndyMac allegedly sold the loan to GRP to be shielded from liability.

Difficulties in the financial markets should be addressed through the private sector whenever possible, and government assistance should only be given when the stability of the financial system as a whole is at risk, said Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday before the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. Bernanke said the failure of Lehman Brothers did not pose such a risk to the financial system, given the… Read More Now

Paulson Says Gov’t Action Will Protect Taxpayers, Restore Markets
Quickly enacting a government program to save U.S. financial markets is the best option to avoid seeing the turmoil spread toward the broader economy, said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in his prepared testimony to be read before the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee on Tuesday. Read More Now

ABA Asks Protection for Banks Owning GSE Stock
When the two government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) were originally placed in conservatorship on September 7, federal regulators estimated that only a few dozen banks were holding preferred paper in the institution. However, the ABA survey has found that about 27 percent of banks are preferred stockholders and another 3-1/2 percent own auction-rate securities that are backed by preferred stock. For those banks which are preferred stockholders, the average exposure of their core capital is 11 percent. In its letter on September 22 the ABA requested that the government take six actions to resolve the preferred stock situation: Read More Now

Heading off to college?
12 tips for stretching a scholar’s dollar.

Fed Gives O.K. For Goldman, Morgan to Become Bank Holding Companies
The Federal Reserves announced Sunday night that applications by Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to become bank holding companies were approved. The approval is still subject to a five-day anti-trust waiting period. Read More Now

Former Fed Governor Says Bernanke and Paulson Are Right Men for the Job
Speaking in an in interview on CNBC, recently-retired Fed Governor Frederic Mishkin praised Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and U.S. Treasury Secretary Paulson for being the right people to deal with the current situation. In many ways, the current situation is worse than the Great Depression, said Mishkin who pointed out that as a student of history, Bernanke is the perfect person to handle the current financial market crisis. Read More Now

The federal housing commissioner has issued a mortgagee letter indicating that the Federal Housing Administration has observed a rising number of instances where borrowers are abandoning their current residences to buy another property. All new FHA loan submissions must be considered excluding any rental income on the current residence, the letter said. The temporary rule is being implemented to ensure that the borrower can make payments on the full debt service of both mortgages.

Should you float? Probably
My advice — and I am unsure about this, and I beseech you to seek other viewpoints in addition to mine — is to float instead of locking a rate.

Chat at noon on Boston.com
Join me at noon Eastern time today for an online chat about mortgages on Boston.com, the Globe’s Web site.

Wielder of the mighty pen
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said today that he will meet with members of Congress over the weekend to discuss the outlines of a legislative package to stabilize the financial markets.

Volatile market, rates
Rates on 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages are down this morning. I wouldn’t bet the house on rates staying down.

Shakeup, Reorganization at Fannie
Fannie Mae announced a realignment of its organizational structure. The firm said its three lines of business — mortgage guaranty, capital markets, and housing and community development — would report directly to its president and chief executive officer. The company also noted its chief business officer, general counsel, chief information officer and government and industry relations executive had all resigned.

A wild ride for rates
Bankrate’s weekly survey of rates is good for historical perspective, but it masks day-to-day and even hour-to-hour fluctuations.

Draft of Democratic Bill Includes Provision to Acquire Shares from Firms
A draft of the U.S. Democratic proposals for legislation to bail out the financial system includes provisions for the government to acquire shares of financial firms seeking aid, and aims to limit the Treasury’s authority to purchase illiquid assets, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. Read More Now

Avoid the waste and environmental cost by making your own mop pads out of old washcloths.

Lender write-off boosts driver’s tax
A lender’s decision to write off a car boosts a driver’s tax bill, says Bankrate car columnist Terry Jackson.

Utility payment plans have some flaws
Equal payments may sound like a great idea, but watch out that you don’t get hit with a surprise bill at the end of the year.

Obama Says Bailout Plan Must Help Main Street, Not Just Wall Street
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said the government’s bailout plan must aid main street and not just Wall Street. Delivering remarks about the proposed bailout plan, Obama said the credit crunch is hitting small business and students. Read More Now

ECB’s Stark Says Financial Turmoil Not Over Yet
In an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle published on Friday, European Central Bank Governing Council member Jurgen Stark said the financial market turbulence is not over yet. Read More Now

Heading off to college?
12 tips for stretching a scholar’s dollar.

Fannie and Freddie to Resume Purchase of Mortgage Debt
In the aftermath of unprecedented actions from the U.S. Treasury and the Fed earlier on Friday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will resume buying mortgage debt under the surveillance of the Treasury Department, and an expansion of the Mortgage- Backed Security purchase program. Read More Now

CBOE Head Denounces SEC’s Emergency Short-Selling Ban
The head of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) is publicly criticizing the emergency ban on short-selling announced by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday. CBOE Chairman and CEO William J. Brodsky called the SEC’s measure “draconian measure that will result in the sudden and severe removal of liquidity from the marketplace at the same time that the government is taking unprecedented steps to preserve it.” Read More Now

The Treasury announced a 1-year program that will insure the holdings of any publicly offered eligible money market mutual fund. But the American Bankers Association said it is deeply concerned that the plan might undermine the banking system. “The debt instruments in a money market fund will pay a higher interest rate, and therefore, the fund will pay a higher interest rate than a bank deposit or short-term CD,” the trade group’s president and chief executive officer said in a press release.

Checking out options for your grill
These days you can add a rotisserie, smoker or even infrared.

Paulson Announces Major Steps to Restore Mortgage Liquidity
Mortgage assets are tying up the entire U.S. economy, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said at a press conference Friday. In addition to legislation that will be passed over the next week involving hundreds of billions of dollars, the secretary talked about two immediate steps the administration will take. The first step to be taken includes an increase by Fannie and Freddie in purchases of mortgage-backed securities to provide critical additional funding to mortgage markets. In addition, the Treasury will expand its MBS purchase program announced earlier this month.

More Details Emerge on Mortgage Bailout
Under a legislative proposal unveiled on Saturday, the Treasury secretary would be authorized to purchase up to $700 billion in mortgage-related assets. The plan would allow purchases from any U.S.-based financial institution. The proposal calls for the Treasury to continue purchases for up to two years.