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NEWS ABOUT: subprime crisis

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House Hits High Bonuses at Strapped Companies

Fat cats to face executive pay hearing

(Newser) - A House committee wants to know why the CEOs of three companies mired in the subprime crisis collected massive bonuses as their firms bled billions, AP reports. The targets include Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, and Countrywide, all of which posted stunning losses last year. Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo and the former... More »

Depression-Era FHA Tries to Save Mortgages

Long-sidelined agency now a central player in the credit crisis

(Newser) - It’s been a while since the Federal Housing Administration was relevant. But now policymakers are counting on the Depression-era agency, which mostly insures mortgages, to once again solve a housing crisis. FHA-insured loans are swiftly becoming substantially cheaper than their Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac backed counterparts. “The... More »

Investors Angered as WaMu Shields Exec Bonuses

Bank's board of directors extracts subprime losses from bonus formula

(Newser) - Washington Mutual’s directors have decided to limit the hit its executive management team can take from the subprime credit fiasco, setting cash bonus targets that exclude costs from foreclosures and mortgage-related losses, reports the Wall Street Journal. The move angered some shareholders who’ve seen their investment shrink as... More »

Fannie, Freddie OK Appraisal Deal

New code will discourage inflated appraisals for home mortgages

(Newser) - The nation’s two largest backers of home loans have reached a deal with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo that could help eliminate inflated mortgage appraisals, the Wall Street Journal reports. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have agreed to buy mortgages only from banks that follow a new code... More »

One Million Going Bankrupt

Record spike in bankruptcy filings, more ahead

(Newser) - More than a million Americans are headed for bankruptcy in 2008, mostly due to crippling household debt, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute. There were 76,120 bankruptcy filings last month—a 37% increase over February last year, and the biggest monthly spike since the change in personal bankruptcy laws... More »

Credit Crunch Ups Price of College Loans

Federal, private lenders will raise rates, increase rejections

(Newser) - Even as college costs soar, the credit crunch is about to make student loans more expensive—and tougher to come by. Fees for federally guaranteed loans, which offer below-market rates, are expected to rise, and some states have dropped out of the program. At least a dozen private firms have... More »

Shakeup May Signal E*Trade's Availability

New chairman could steer struggling brokerage toward buyer

(Newser) - E*Trade Financial, stung by mortgage- and mortgage-backed securities market losses, is adding CEO to chairman Donald Layton's duties. The company may be dolling itself up for a possible sale by polishing its tarnished image, the Wall Street Journal reports. Since Layton, 57, became chairman in November, the brokerage has rebounded... More »

Yen Pounds Dollar as Markets Fall

Markets in worldwide retreat as dollar drops on subprime worries

(Newser) - The dollar’s skid accelerated today, taking it to a three-year low against the Japanese yen, and pushing the free-falling greenback to a record bottom against the Swiss franc and other currencies amid worries that subprime woes will worsen, Reuters reports. Worldwide, stocks dove lower on broad concerns about the... More »

Wall Street Faults Rules on Writedowns

Critics say accounting rules exaggerate losses, hinder market

(Newser) - After months of staggering writedowns battering Wall Street, some investors and executives are charging that accounting rules are exaggerating losses and triggering slumps like yesterday’s 315-point plunge in the Dow, reports the Wall Street Journal. Rules requiring companies to value holdings at current market rates, no matter how volatile,... More »

Freddie Mac Reports Record $2.45B Loss

Rising defaults break mark mortgage investor set ... last quarter

(Newser) - Freddie Mac, the nation’s second-largest mortgage finance company, lost $2.45 billion in 2007's fourth quarter, topping the record $2.02 billion it lost the previous quarter, Bloomberg reports. Freddie’s CEO predicted still-greater losses ahead as loan defaults take their toll, but said the company had raised enough... More »

Paulson Raps Mortgage Rescue Plans

Says taxpayers shouldn't finance 'bailouts' for reckless lenders and borrowers

(Newser) - Homeowners burned by the subprime mortgage meltdown shouldn't be looking to the federal government for help, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told the Wall Street Journal yesterday. Facing down mounting congressional pressure for stronger measures to stem an epidemic of foreclosures, Paulson dismissed proposals on the table as "bailouts" for... More »

Stocks Flat After Roller Coaster

Market buffeted by more ugly data, soothing Bernanke testimony

(Newser) - Stocks ended mainly flat after mixed news had indices seesawing throughout today's session, the Wall Street Journal reports. Economic news was bad in general, but Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and housing regulators cheered the markets with upbeat comments. The Dow ended up 9.36 to 12,694.28, the... More »

Bush Spars With Senators Over Housing Fixes

Democrats and Republicans push to go further; feds don't want 'bailout'

(Newser) - Congressional Democrats are pushing for new bankruptcy rules to help homeowners suffering from the mortgage crisis, the Washington Post reports—though the White House says it will veto any plan that could hurt lenders and send mortgage rates upward. Democrats say enough Republicans from hard-hit states could join them in... More »

Fannie Mae Loses Billions in Q4

Government-backed lender off $3.56B, but feds lifts restraints on portfolio

(Newser) - Fannie Mae reported huge fourth-quarter losses today, painting an ugly picture both of the economy and the mortgage giant's own future. The company lost $3.56 billion—triple what analysts expected, Bloomberg reports. Derivatives were the big culprit, accounting for $3.33 billion in losses, but the company also reported... More »

Home Seizures by Banks Jump 90% in Year

Lenders reclaim 45K properties as mortgage payments rise

(Newser) - Banks seized more than 45,000 homes in January, nearly double the number from a year ago and up 8% from December, Bloomberg reports. Rising adjustable-rate mortgage payments were the culprit. Total foreclosure filings, which include default and auction notices in addition to seizures, increased 57% to 233,001, the... More »

Mortgage Crisis: Judges to the Rescue?

Democrats back plan to let jurists change loan terms

(Newser) - Over the loud objections of lenders, Senate Democrats are lining up behind a plan to give bankruptcy judges the power to alter mortgages, the LA Times reports. The proposals could go to the floor as early as today. “This bill will have more impact… than any other option currently... More »

Home Prices Decline Across Country

8.9% declines posted for fourth quarter in 10 biggest markets

(Newser) - Home prices in the top 10 metro areas slumped 8.9% over the previous year, the largest decline in 20 years, according to the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller price index, released today. "Wherever you look things look bleak," one economist tells the Wall Street Journal, noting that declines... More »

Feds Brace for a Wave of Bank Failures

FDIC hires extra staff to help with boost in 'problem' banks

(Newser) - Federal regulators are gearing up for as many as 100 bank failures in the next year—the most since the savings and loan crisis that saw more than 1,000 S&Ls go belly up in the ’80s and ’90s—as the subprime contagion continues to decimate the... More »

Feds Ponder Rescue Plans as Housing Slump Worsens

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

(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 »

Markets Drop as KKR Unit Delays Payment

Concern about liquidity in the US has investors selling off in Asia

(Newser) - Asian stocks slumped today after reports in the Financial Times that a struggling arm of private equity heavyweight Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. missed a second payment on billions of dollars of commercial debt just 6 months after two of its founders poured $270 million into the company. Investors cashed out as... More »

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