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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: mortgage debt

mortgage debt stories: 21 news summaries

1 - 20 of 21 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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investigation

Mortgage Scammers Prey
on Strapped Homeowners

So-called rescue firms promise to negotiate lower rates, then take money and run

Sep 24, 09 7:50 PM CDT
(Newser) - Mortgage brokers who made a mint during the housing boom setting up homeowners in toxic loans are now profiting from a different sort of shady deal. So-called foreclosure rescue firms are proliferating across the US, taking money upfront and promising to negotiate with homeowners’ banks for better interest rates. Instead,... More »

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foreclosure • mortgage • scam • mortgage debt • homeowners • housing crisis • interest rates • Federal Trade Commission

Commercial Real Estate May Set Off 2nd Crisis

Another mortgage-backed securities market gets into trouble

Aug 31, 09 7:27 AM CDT
(Newser) - Just as the economy starts to recover, a second mortgage disaster may be looming. The commercial real estate sector is tanking, with many properties unable to generate enough cash to make mortgage payments. Lo and behold, those commercial mortgages have been sewn into securities—comparable to the packages of home... More »

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mortgage • debt • mortgage debt • mortgage backed securities • commercial real estate • financial crisis

Obama Housing Rescue Plan Leaves Many Out in Cold

Criteria keep many who need help from refinancing under the plan

Mar 5, 09 8:40 AM CST
(Newser) - A large swath of Americans will see no help under the Obama administration’s housing rescue plan, the New York Times reports. While designed to prevent 3 million to 4 million foreclosures through loan modifications, the plan doesn't cover those whose loans aren’t backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie... More »

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housing market • foreclosure • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage debt • mortgage lender • underwater • mortgage defaults • Obama administration • financial crisis • President Obama

States Seek to Restrict
Employer Credit Checks

Lawmakers want employers to prove credit reports are necessary

Feb 13, 09 12:00 PM CST
(Newser) - Several states and Obama administration officials are seeking restrictions on employers that unfairly screen out job applicants using credit checks, USA Today reports. Spiking unemployment and mortgage foreclosures brought on by the financial crisis have hurt many, and lawmakers say trustworthy people are being shut out of good jobs.... More »

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foreclosure • unemployment • mortgage debt • Equal Opportunity • credit score • credit rating • financial crisis

Senate Homeowner Aid
Moves Big Step Closer

Citi drops opposition to Senate proposal

Jan 9, 09 9:02 AM CST
(Newser) - A Senate plan to help struggling homeowners keep their houses moved closer to fruition yesterday as Citigroup ended its opposition to the bill, the Wall Street Journal reports. The measure would allow so-called “cramdowns,” in which judges in Chapter 13 bankruptcy cases could set lower principal and interest... More »

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Senate • foreclosure • mortgage • mortgage rates • mortgage debt • Dick Durbin • refinanced mortgages

Ireland Buys 75% of Troubled Lender in Banks Bailout

Anglo Irish goes into taxpayers' hands after scandal

Dec 22, 08 4:33 AM CST
(Newser) - Ireland became the latest nation to partially nationalize struggling banks last night, buying 75% of the deeply troubled Anglo Irish Bank and bailing out others, reports the Financial Times. The bank, whose shares had already dropped 95% from bad mortgage debts, suffered a further blow last week when its CEO ... More »

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Ireland • mortgage debt • banking • Irish economy • rescue package • recapitalization • Anglo Irish

Bernanke Plugs More Help
for US Homeowners

Fed chief outlines ideas for public, private sector to slow foreclosures

Dec 4, 08 4:54 PM CST
(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says more must be done to halt record US home-foreclosure rates, the New York Times reports. The Federal Reserve chief suggested several options today, including the government buying bad mortgages en masse and refinancing them through a government-insured program, and strengthening a scheme aimed at lowering homeowners’ monthly... More »

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Ben Bernanke • Federal Reserve • foreclosure • mortgage • mortgage rates • mortgage debt • housing bubble • mortgage defaults • mortgage delinquency • financial crisis

OPINION

'Circle of Pain' Snags Emerging Markets, Too

Krugman: Russia et al. not immune after all to crisis' vicious cycle

Oct 27, 08 12:41 PM CDT
(Newser) - Only a few weeks ago, it seemed the main fronts of the financial crisis were the Western banking system and mortgage market. But now the crisis has spread to emerging markets like Russia and Brazil. As Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times, the mantra of “decoupling”—... More »

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Russia • globalization • debt • mortgage debt • emerging markets • bank failure • financial crisis • decoupling

OPINION

Hillary: Bailout Must Help Homeowners

Wants federal company to buy bad mortgages, address root causes

Sep 25, 08 7:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - As Congress debates the terms of the $700 billion bailout, Hillary Clinton warns in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that "this is not just a financial crisis; it's an economic crisis." For the New York senator, any federal action has to tackle the underlying causes of the turmoil—... More »

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Hillary Clinton • foreclosure • credit market • mortgage debt • homeowners • negative equity • bailout • financial crisis • Home Owners' Loan Corporation

ANALYSIS

 Denial Exacerbated Meltdown 

Banks, like homeowners, refused to believe how bad things really are

Sep 16, 08 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - The collapse of Lehman Brothers and the fire sale of Merrill Lynch are stunning developments, Joe Nocera writes in the New York Times, as is the fact Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are the only big investment banks standing. But the turmoil isn’t simply the result of complex trading... More »

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Goldman Sachs • Morgan Stanley • Merrill Lynch • Lehman Brothers • mortgage debt • banking • subprime crisis • investment banks

Lehman Considers 'Good Bank/Bad Bank' Split

Sheltering troubled mortgage debt expected to bolster confidence

Sep 5, 08 10:22 AM CDT
(Newser) - Lehman Brothers is considering splitting itself into two banks, a “bad bank” to house its $30 billion in troubled mortgage and real estate holdings, and a “good bank” to carry on with the help of a new investor or two, the New York Times reports. The move, which... More »

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Wall Street • finance • Lehman Brothers • mortgage debt • subprime crisis

Bank Ads Helped Spin
2nd Mortgages

Home equity loans, once desperate moves, now total $1 trillion

Aug 15, 08 11:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Until recently, borrowing against one's home was considered a desperate measure, but now it's commonplace. Since the 1980s, outstanding home-equity loans—once called second mortgages—have exploded a thousandfold to more than $1 trillion. The New York Times looks at how banks waged a concerted advertising campaign to transform Americans'... More »

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advertising • debt • home equity • mortgage debt • lending practices • home equity loans

Freddie CEO Dismissed Bad Omens for Years

Execs charge Syron was warned
of disaster

Aug 5, 08 4:34 AM CDT
(Newser) - The CEO of Freddie Mac disregarded several warnings from inside the company that the mortgage giant faced imminent disaster. More than two dozen current and former high-ranking employees told the New York Times that Richard Syron dismissed repeated recommendations from as early as 2004 to limit its exposure to bad... More »

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subprime mortgages • housing • Freddie Mac • mortgage loans • mortgage debt • Richard Syron • loan • financial crisis

analysis

Merrill Panic May Mark Bottom of Stock Market

Once regaled for cavalier confidence, CEO's chief cuts losses

Aug 1, 08 10:30 AM CDT
(Newser) - Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain has seen better days, Floyd Norris writes in the New York Times. He's gone from “cockiness to capitulation. Distinction to desperation.” Thain recently unloaded a bundle of his company’s securities for 22 cents on the dollar and raised $8.5 billion from... More »

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Merrill Lynch • CDO • mortgage debt • mortgage backed securities • John Thain • financial sector • subprime crisis • stock offering • banking industry

Lone Star Buys Big at Mortgage Fire Sale

Texas fund grabs $6.7B in Merrill castoffs, is hungry for more

Jul 30, 08 11:48 AM CDT
(Newser) - Lone Star Fund is looking to profit from the castoffs of the credit meltdown, buying billions of marked-down assets and betting on just some of them to rebound, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Dallas-based private-equity firm run by John Grayken has closed a deal on $6.7 billion in... More »

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Merrill Lynch • CDO • Lone Star • mortgage debt • private equity firms

Economic Recovery to Take Months: Paulson

But banking remains 'safe and sound'

Jul 20, 08 5:42 PM CDT
(Newser) - Henry Paulson sought to reassure Americans today that US banking is "sound" despite a growing list of troubled banks, Reuters reports. He also said the economy will stay slow for months, but expressed confidence that Congress will shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before summer recess. "Congress... More »

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Henry Paulson • Freddie Mac • IndyMac • Fannie Mae • mortgage debt • banking • subprime crisis • financial crisis

As Speculation Swirls, Panic Stalks Freddie, Fannie

As mortgage giants face increased losses, investors uncertain of their futures

Jul 11, 08 7:56 AM CDT
(Newser) - What started as a whisper Monday is a roar at week’s end as investors wrestle with the fate of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Wall Street Journal reports. While neither firm, which together own or back roughly half  the nation’s mortgages, faces imminent collapse, awareness... More »

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Wall Street • Federal Reserve • Freddie Mac • Fannie Mae • mortgage debt • housing crisis • subprime crisis • market turmoil • financial crisis

Celebrity Foreclosure:
Canseco's Out at Home

Former baseball star forced to move into smaller home

May 1, 08 9:09 PM CDT
(Newser) - It can happen to the rich and famous, too: Jose Canseco's mansion is in foreclosure, and he's had to move into more modest digs, Inside Edition reports. Canseco owed more than $2.5 million on the California property his neighbors called the "hotel." He made $30 million in... More »

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foreclosure • mortgage • debt • Jose Canseco • Washington Mutual • mortgage loans • mortgage debt • mortgage lender • subprime crisis • mortgage defaults

Feds Ponder Rescue Plans as Housing Slump Worsens

More than 10% of homeowners are 'upside down' on mortgages

Feb 22, 08 12:05 PM CST
(Newser) - With one in 10 US homeowners owing more on their homes than they’re worth, the highest proportion of negative-equity loans since the Depression, the government is weighing plans that would apply the brakes to the rapidly accelerating housing market collapse, the New York Times reports. Possibilities include federal loan... More »

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subprime mortgages • debt • mortgage debt • Federal government • housing crisis • subprime crisis • negative equity

State Lenders Choke Bush's Fight Against Foreclosures

Housing agencies won't risk lending to debtors

Feb 1, 08 7:18 PM CST
(Newser) - President Bush’s goal of helping subprime borrowers by offering tax-exempt bonds is meeting resistance from state lenders, Bloomberg reports. Risk-averse state housing agencies are already turning down over half the applicants to their own programs intended to help those affected by the crisis, due mainly to applicants’ existing financial... More »

MORE ABOUT:
housing market • mortgage debt • borrowers • housing crisis • subprime crisis • housing agencies • George W. Bush

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