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July 25, 2008 8:24:04 AM CDT

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Stories related to: subprime mortgage crisis

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16 Stories

  • July 2008

    • Credit Woes Move Bank to Offload $2B in Coke Shares

      newser  |  Guardian  |  Jul 23, 08 10:42 AM CDT

      Credit Woes Move Bank to Offload $2B in Coke Shares

      Continuing credit losses have prompted SunTrust Bank to offload its 43.6 million shares of Coca-Cola, breaking ties with the soft-drink maker that stretch more than 90 years and include a copy of the cola’s secret recipe stored in the bank’s Atlanta vault, the Guardian reports. SunTrust’s announcement that it would dispose of its $2 billion stake boosted Coke shares 3.5% yesterday. More »

      Tags

      mortgage crisis  • Atlanta  • Coca Cola  • subprime mortgage crisis  • SunTrust Banks

    • In Good Times and Bad, Looks Matter

      newser  |  Washington Post  |  Jul 21, 08 1:07 PM CDT

      In Good Times and Bad, Looks Matter

      Did so many people believe IndyMac CEO Michael Perry's assurances that his company was doing fine because of his baby face? A forthcoming study suggests that soft features like "large eyes, small nose, high forehead and small chin," engender more favorable bias in viewers, the Washington Post reports. The effect only goes so far, however. More »

      Tags

      CEO  • subprime mortgage crisis  • IndyMac  • appearances  • consumer psychology  • corporate execs

    • Failed FDIC-Run Bank Added Fuel to Subprime Fire

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 21, 08 9:21 AM CDT

      Failed FDIC-Run Bank Added Fuel to Subprime Fire

      An Illinois bank seized by regulators in 2001 continued to write risky subprime mortgages for months after it was put under the day-to-day supervision of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Wall Street Journal reports. Many of the loans—some with interest rates above 12%—have been foreclosed; a Texas bank that bought a portfolio of the loans is suing the government. More »

      Tags

      foreclosure  • subprime mortgage crisis  • bank failure  • IndyMac  • FDIC

    • Public Silence Greets Wall St. Blunders

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 19, 08 3:10 PM CDT

      Public Silence Greets Wall St. Blunders

      America's financiers have driven the country into crisis with stunning recklessness, James Grant writes in the Wall Street Journal , but public anger seems strangely dormant. Populist politicians railed against Wall Street during past financial crises, Grant notes, but today's politicians appear largely uninterested in taking aim at the easy target. More »

      Tags

      Federal Reserve  • credit crisis  • Wall Street  • subprime crisis  • finance  • credit market  • financial markets  • subprime mortgage crisis  • financial institutions

    • Investors Fall Out of Love With Banks

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Jul 16, 08 7:39 AM CDT

      Investors Fall Out of Love With Banks

      With the nation's banks under pressure from bad loans, and sources of credit scarce, bank customers aren't panicking, the New York Times notes, but  investors are, fleeing an industry much more accustomed to being a Wall Street darling . Bank shares continued their downward spiral yesterday, with the S&P Regional Bank Index down 4% on top of Monday’s 11% drop. More »

      Tags

      mortgage crisis  • subprime mortgage crisis  • mortgage defaults  • National City

    • Mortgage Insurers Feel Pinch, Pull Back on Loans

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 15, 08 9:51 AM CDT

      Mortgage Insurers Feel Pinch, Pull Back on Loans

      Mortgage insurers facing mounting defaults are tightening their standards, adding another hurdle for potential homebuyers, the Wall Street Journal reports. Beleaguered and risk-averse banks are making more mortgage applicants apply for insurance, just as insurers are declaring more parts of the country “declining markets.” making insurance harder to obtain. The result is “wreaking havoc” on the industry, one bank representative tells the Wall Street Journal. More »

      Tags

      housing crisis  • foreclosure  • home loans  • Federal Housing Administration  • subprime mortgage crisis  • mortgage lender  • mortgage defaults

    • As Speculation Swirls, Panic Stalks Freddie, Fannie

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 11, 08 7:56 AM CDT

      As Speculation Swirls, Panic Stalks Freddie, Fannie

      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 that the government is mulling options for a bailout has sent Wall Street into a speculative downward spiral. More »

      Tags

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

  • June 2008

    • Foreclosures Surge 48% in May

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Jun 13, 08 9:35 AM CDT

      Foreclosures Surge 48% in May

      The number of US homeowners swept up in the housing crisis rose further last month, with foreclosure filings up 48% over a year earlier. Nationwide, 261,255 homes received at least one foreclosure-related filing in May, up 7%  from April and the second straight monthly record. That's one in every 483 US households, the highest number since the foreclosure listing company started the report in 2005. More »

      Tags

      foreclosure  • real estate  • housing  • subprime mortgage crisis

    • New Wave of Foreclosures Expected in '09

      newser  |  BusinessWeek  |  Jun 7, 08 10:44 AM CDT

      New Wave of Foreclosures Expected in '09

      America’s subprime victims may have grudgingly accepted their fate, but there’s a new class of borrowers primed to suffer, BusinessWeek reports. Homeowners who took out ARMs, or adjustable rate mortgages, will soon face skyrocketing payments as their loans reset. About a million people have the mortgages, but only a small number have already fallen due. “It's a ticking time bomb inside your house that you can't get rid of,” one insider said. More »

      Tags

      US economy  • housing market  • foreclosure  • debt  • home sales  • subprime mortgage crisis  • homeownership  • lending practices  • adjustable-rate mortgages

  • May 2008

    • Squatters, Scammers Move In on Foreclosed Homes

      newser  |  Reuters  |  May 19, 08 3:30 PM CDT

      Squatters, Scammers Move In on Foreclosed Homes

      Add a new twist to the housing crisis: Squatters are increasingly using homes that have been abandoned for months, and con artists are scamming banks in “cash for keys” deals or luring people into “leasing” homes that actually are foreclosures sitting empty, Reuters reports. Authorities can have a hard time proving the squatters aren't renters—and get little help from foreclosed-on owners. More »

      Tags

      housing crisis  • foreclosure  • subprime mortgage crisis  • mortgage defaults  • eviction

    • Treasury Boss: Worst Is Over

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  May 7, 08 2:45 AM CDT

      Treasury Boss: Worst Is Over

      The US is emerging from the credit woes triggered by the turmoil over subprime mortgages—despite the continuing wave of foreclosures across the nation, according to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. Paulson, in the most positive comments yet from the White House on the nation's economic troubles, in part credited the federal bailout of Bear Stearns, reports the Wall Street Journal. More »

      Tags

      Federal Reserve  • credit crisis  • Bear Stearns  • foreclosure  • Henry Paulson  • Fannie Mae  • Freddie Mac  • Federal Housing Administration  • subprime mortgage crisis

    • Big Fannie Mae Losses Prompt Fears of Failure

      newser  |  New York Times  |  May 6, 08 8:16 AM CDT

      Big Fannie Mae Losses Prompt Fears of Failure

      Fannie Mae lost a worse-than-expected $2.2 billion this quarter, forcing it to cut its dividend and seek $6 billion in capital. The news is especially troubling as Fannie and Freddie Mac, the companies Washington relies on to keep the housing market functioning, are under unprecedented pressure, the New York Times reports. Many are now worried that one or both of them, after stepping in to rescue a torrent of troubled mortgages, may soon need bailouts themselves. More »

      Tags

      mortgage  • Fannie Mae  • Freddie Mac  • quarterly earnings  • subprime mortgage crisis

    • UBS Cuts 5,500 Jobs, Sells Off $15B in Assets

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  May 6, 08 5:52 AM CDT

      UBS Cuts 5,500 Jobs, Sells Off $15B in Assets

      UBS will cut 5,500 jobs, slightly fewer than expected, by the middle of 2009 as part of a major restructuring effort, the troubled Swiss bank said today in announcing an $11-billion first-quarter loss. Some 2,600 of the layoffs will be among investment bankers, mostly in London and New York. UBS will also sell off $15 billion in mortgage-backed securities to BlackRock and plans further sales of its mortgage holdings in the future. More »

      Tags

      mortgage backed securities  • UBS  • layoffs  • subprime mortgage crisis  • investment bankers  • BlackRock

    • UBS to Lay Off 8,000, Add $11.4B to Writedowns

      newser  |  Bloomberg  |  May 5, 08 6:25 AM CDT

      UBS to Lay Off 8,000, Add $11.4B to Writedowns

      Swiss banking giant UBS will lay off some 10% of its 83,000 workforce and scale back its investment banking arm in an attempt to reassure shareholders that it's taking actions to curtail losses associated with the subprime debacle, reports Bloomberg. Switzerland's largest bank says it will detail a further $11.4 billion in first-quarter writedowns in its earnings report tomorrow—bringing the total to $38 billion over the past three quarters. More »

      Tags

      shareholders  • banking  • UBS  • layoffs  • writedowns  • subprime mortgage crisis

  • April 2008

    • Mortgage Biz Battles Fed Reforms

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Apr 28, 08 7:05 AM CDT

      Mortgage Biz Battles Fed Reforms

      As the Federal Reserve moves toward stricter lending rules, mortgage providers are firing back, calling the rules too broad and arguing that they could limit loans to borrowers who don't have credit problems, the New York Times reports. Regulation, bankers say, could raise the price of mortgages by increasing paperwork and the risk of lawsuits. The outcry has pushed the Fed to consider narrowing the number of mortgages the rules would apply to. More »

      Tags

      Federal Reserve  • mortgage  • subprime mortgage crisis  • mortgage lender  • lending practices  • bankers

    • Sarkozy: 'I Made Some Mistakes'

      newser  |  BBC  |  Apr 25, 08 7:22 AM CDT

      Sarkozy: 'I Made Some Mistakes'

      French President Nicolas Sarkozy defended his first year in office in a TV interview but admitted he made mistakes, reports the BBC. It's been a rough debut. His controversial policies—met by fierce opposition in certain sectors— have failed to reverse an economic downturn, and his flashy courtship of model Carla Bruni sparked complaints that he wasn't focusing on work. His private life is now "back under control," he assured listeners. More »

      Tags

      2008 Beijing Olympics  • Nicolas Sarkozy  • European Union  • Carla Bruni  • Ingrid Betancourt  • subprime mortgage crisis  • Olympic boycotts  • French economy

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