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December 3, 2008 12:38:54 PM CST

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Fannie, Freddie to Offer Mass Loan Modifications

Housing giants aim to reduce foreclosures

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Nov 11, 08 10:37 AM CST
(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will roll out a plan today to modify hundreds of thousands of loans in an effort to prevent foreclosures, the Wall Street Journal reports. The mortgage giants, under federal conservatorship, aim to reduce mortgage payments to no more than 38% of household income. Private banks will be encouraged by the Treasury to perform similar surgeries. More »

More about:  Financial Crisis • subprime crisis • foreclosure • Fannie Mae • Freddie Mac • mortgage • housing • loan


 Trump Sues Lenders 
 for Chicago Tower 

Construction continues amid financial impasse

Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Nov 8, 08 8:03 AM CST
(Newser) - Donald Trump is suing lenders for a $640 million loan extension on his mostly completed Trump Tower in Chicago, after sales of condos have fallen short, the Wall Street Journal reports. Trump is angling to apply a force majeure provision—normally triggered by acts of war or natural disasters—in the agreement with a group led by Deutsche Bank, citing the “unprecedented financial crisis in the credit markets now prevailing, in part due to acts Deutsche Bank itself participated in." More »

More about:  lawsuit • Chicago • Donald Trump • Deutsche Bank • loan

6 Governors
Push Feds for Quicker Auto Industry Relief

Tight credit hurts car sales: Granholm

Detroit Free Press Detroit Free Press Oct 30, 08 2:29 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michigan’s Jennifer Granholm and five other US governors urged federal officials today to act quickly in delivering financial aid to the auto industry, the Detroit Free Press reports. In a letter, the governors of Delaware, Kentucky, New York, Ohio and South Dakota stress that the credit crisis has hurt auto sales by making it difficult for consumers to get loans. More »

Feds May Loan GM $5B
for Chrysler Deal


Wall Street Journal Wall Street Journal Oct 27, 08 7:16 PM CDT
(Newser) - Federal aid may be on the way to facilitate a GM-Chrysler merger, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Department of Energy aims to loan General Motors $5 billion so the merged company can afford layoffs, plant closings, and other integration costs. It could also help GM drum up more investment cash; it needs about $10 billion to make the merger work. More »

More about:  General Motors • Chrysler • merger • loan • US government

 China Embraces Credit Cards 

Untapped market prompts banks to aggressively market plastic

Los Angeles Times Los Angeles Times Oct 22, 08 1:36 PM CDT
(Newser) - Banks are moving to tap China’s lucrative market for credit cards, issuing millions in new plastic in recent years, the Los Angeles Times reports. There are about 100 million credit cards today in China, up from 3 million in 2003. And the market is still tiny, by American standards: The average Chinese consumer has only two cards, while an American has five. More »

More about:  China • credit card • banks • credit • default • loan • shoppers

Congress' Big Auto Bailout Mired in Red Tape

Money coming later rather than sooner

Washington Post Washington Post Oct 22, 08 9:59 AM CDT
(Newser) - Detroit's $25 billion loan is sitting in Washington, the Washington Post reports, and may take more than a year to distribute, despite the auto industry's increasing desperation for the cash. The Energy Department, which was tasked with doling out the money, says various legal and administrative requirements will drag the process out 6-18 months. “Congress had the opportunity to waive these requirements,” said a department spokeswoman, but “has chosen not to.” More »

More about:  Congress • auto industry • Detroit • Big Three • Carl Levin • loan • red tape

 GM Calls for Help 

Firm reiterates urge for government assistance

Reuters Reuters Oct 14, 08 12:07 PM CDT
(Newser) - General Motors is not thinking of filing for bankruptcy, Reuters reports. Instead, an exec said, "There is a strong need for coordinated federal action" to weather the economic crisis as US auto sales slide. Filing for bankruptcy "would not benefit our customers, our dealers, or our employees," she noted. More »

More about:  Financial Crisis • bailout • auto industry • General Motors • Detroit • auto sales • US automakers • loan

OPINION

What Killed Bear, Lehman Is What the World Needs

Subprime loans bring relief to millions worldwide

Slate Slate Sep 21, 08 12:44 PM CDT
(Newser) - Sure, subprime loans toppled two pillars of American investment banking, gutted the world’s largest insurer, and plunged the entire US financial system into a tailspin. But they are exactly what the world needs today, Daniel Gross argues in Slate. “Far from the madding, depressed crowds of Wall Street, billions of people are starving for credit,” the columnist writes. More »

More about:  subprime mortgages • interest rate • banks • loan • consumer credit • microfinance

Auto Giants Press Congress for $25B Loan

Credit pinch, oil prices could cost thousands of jobs, execs say

Detroit Free Press Detroit Free Press Sep 18, 08 9:43 AM CDT
(Newser) - The CEOs of US auto giants seem to have convinced some in Congress they, too, need billions in federal loans, the Detroit Free Press reports, though it’s uncertain if they’ll get the $25 billion they’re asking for. High oil and commodity prices and tightened credit threaten jobs in an already ailing industry, the heads of General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler told lawmakers yesterday. More »

More about:  bailout • auto industry • General Motors • Ford • Chrysler • lobbying • Big Three • loan • federal loans • jobs

Freddie CEO Dismissed Bad Omens for Years

Execs charge Syron was warned
of disaster

New York Times New York Times 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 loans, which now threaten to saddle taxpayers with a multibillion-dollar bailout. More »

Squeezed
Banks Slash
Biz Loans

Real-estate
fallout dries up
credit stream

New York Times New York Times Jul 28, 08 5:09 AM CDT
(Newser) - Reeling from real-estate losses, banks are turning off the credit spigot to loan-seeking businesses, the New York Times reports. The loan reduction means more bad news down the line as money-starved companies begin to cut workers. Banks cut credit nearly 3% over the past year, the most since 2001, according to the Federal Reserve. The shrinking availability has hit companies especially hard as customers facing their own financial struggles horde their pennies. More »

More about:  economy • bank • banking industry • credit • loan

ANALYSIS

Fannie/Freddie Troubles Signal Sea Change in Gov't Role

Feds now effectively the only lender in town

New York Times New York Times Jul 14, 08 6:54 AM CDT
(Newser) - The teetering of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has underscored a major shift in US finance, writes Peter S. Goodman in the New York Times —once simply another guarantor, the government has effectively become the only lender in town "for millions of Americans engaged in the largest transactions of their lives." As commercial banks flee the market and credit dries up, Fannie and Freddie are now buying two-thirds of new mortgages. More »

Cash-Strapped Jacko Could Lose Neverland

King of Pop defaults
on $23M loan and has 90 days to pay—or else

Fox News Fox News Oct 26, 07 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - Michael Jackson has defaulted on a $23 million loan against his storied Neverland Ranch, and he’ll lose the Santa Barbara fortress if he doesn’t pay in 90 days. The King of Pop is in his worst financial situation ever, says Fox News, and speculation is mounting that he’ll declare bankruptcy to limit the damage. More »

More about:  Sony • Michael Jackson • default • loan • Bahrain • Santa Barbara • Neverland • Elvis

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