Entries in the '' Category

MetLife CEO says insurers need voice in Washington (Reuters)

A MetLife flag is pictured outside the MetLife building in New York, January 31, 2005. REUTERS/Chip EastReuters - MetLife Inc Chief Executive Robert Henrikson on Friday said the economic crisis has made it imperative that the life insurance industry be given a voice in Washington.


U.S. FHA to apply $8,000 credit to home buying costs (Reuters)

Construction workers are seen at a townhouse complex in a Denver, Colorado suburb May 16, 2008. REUTERS/Rick WilkingReuters - The Federal Housing Administration will allow the new $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit to be applied directly toward home purchase costs when using an FHA-insured mortgage, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said on Friday.


Borrowers with good credit fuel foreclosures in 1Q (AP)

A foreclosed home is shown in Mountain View, Calif., Thursday, May 28, 2009. A record 12 percent of homeowners with a mortgage are behind on their payments or in foreclosure as the housing crisis spreads to borrowers with good credit. And the wave of foreclosures isn't expected to crest until the end of next year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)AP - The mortgage crisis is spreading and hitting new heights: Borrowers with good credit now make up the largest share of foreclosures as job losses and pay cuts exact their toll.


Mortgage rates rise, remain below 5 pct (AP)

AP - Rates on 30-year home loans rose this week and were poised to go higher as investors demanded higher rates for long-term government debt, which is closely tied to mortgage rates.

About 12 percent of U.S. homeowners late paying or foreclosed (Reuters)

Reuters - One of eight U.S. households with a mortgage ended the first quarter late on loan payments or in the foreclosure process in a crisis that will persist for at least another year until unemployment peaks, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Thursday.

Good News on the Mortgage Mess (BusinessWeek Online)

BusinessWeek Online - Smart shoppers for used cars know how to avoid lemons. Now buyers of residential mortgage-backed securities are likewise learning how to distinguish the bad from the good. That bodes well for healing housing finance.

Citi, SEC in talks to settle asset disclosure probe: report (Reuters)

Reuters - Citigroup Inc is in early negotiations with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to settle a probe into whether it misled investors by not properly disclosing the amount of troubled mortgage assets it held as the markets started to fall in 2007, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter.