Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 25, 2008 9:48:33 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Some Critics of Rate Freeze May Be Angry Investors

Posted Dec 8, 07 1:34 PM CST in Business 

(Newser) – Critics of the government’s new rescue plan for strapped homeowners may be investors who would cash in on a foreclosure-ridden market, one of the plan’s chief architects charges. Sheila Blair, head of the FDIC, speculated that naysayers may have a conflict of interest, the Wall Street Journal reports. “I do worry that some of the investors have taken short positions” on the subprime-mortgage securities index.

Blair admitted she has no proof, but an analyst whose firm helped draft the plan said investor outrage is “to be expected.” While the plan would freeze interest rates for homeowners current on their loans, critics say it amounts to a bailout rewarding reckless behavior. “It’s in everybody’s interest to modify these loans,” Blair said.

Source Wall Street Journal

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • More Fed Help on the Way for Homeowners

    Apr 9, 08 3:15 AM CDT
    More Fed Help on the Way for Homeowners Homeowners struggling to avoid foreclosure are about to get a boost from the Federal Housing Administration. The FHA commissioner is expected to announce plans to expand an aid program that will allow borrowers saddled with negative equity to write down part of their mortgages and refinance their homes with cheaper FHA-insured loans, reports the Wall Street Journal. More »

  • Bush Readies Mortgage Bailout

    Mar 29, 08 6:48 AM CDT
    Homeowners facing foreclosure could soon be getting a helping hand from the Bush administration, the Washington Post reports. Details are being finalized on a plan that would see portions of loans forgiven for people who now owe the bank more money than their house is worth. The remainder would be refinanced into smaller mortgages backed by public funds. More »

  • Bernanke: Homeowners Need More Help

    Mar 4, 08 9:29 AM CST
    Bernanke: Homeowners Need More Help Ben Bernanke says homeowners need more help, and that help might include writing down the principal on some problem loans, reports the Wall Street Journal.  "Efforts by both government and private-sector entities to reduce unnecessary foreclosures are helping, but more can, and should, be done,"  the Fed chairman said today in a speech to a community banking conference in Florida. More »

  • Negative Equity Adds Another Crippling Factor

    Jan 31, 08 6:45 PM CST
    Negative Equity Adds Another Crippling Factor Foreclosure is scary enough, especially at its current pace—79% more US homes foreclosed in 2007 than the year before. But, Forbes writes, the housing crisis is dumping an even scarier problem on mortgage holders around the country: negative equity, in which a mortgage is worth more than the house for which it was borrowed. More »

  • Squeezed Owners Seek Tax Break as Home Values Drop

    Dec 23, 07 6:45 AM CST
    Squeezed Owners Seek Tax Break as Home Values Drop With property values falling across much of the nation, more homeowners are asking for reassessments, looking for a break from property taxes that inflated before the subprime mortgage balloon burst, reports the New York Times. For local governments, especially in areas already suffering from high rates of foreclosure, declining property taxes could cause budget cuts, service reductions and layoffs. More »

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, right, looks on as President Bush, left, makes a statement about subprime mortgages, Thursday, dec. 6, 2007, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington. ...   (Associated Press)
A foreclosure sign tops a sale sign outside an existing home on the market in northwest Denver in this Aug. 29, 2007 file photo. The Bush administration hammered out an agreement with industry to freeze...   (Associated Press)
A sign stands sentry outside an existing home on the market in the Country Club area southeast of downtown Denver on Monday, Sept. 24, 2007. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)   (Associated Press)
A sign showing a foreclosed house is seen in Glendale, Calif., Monday, August 20, 2007. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)   (Associated Press)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Threads (1 of 2)

Tags

subprime mortgages  • foreclosure  • mortgage  • interest rate  • investors  • homeowners  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.


Loading...

Loading...

Today's Most Popular


Other Business Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »