The Home Front
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FDIC Deposit Insurance Limits Could Increase
Continue reading… 1 CommentAs federal regulators brace for an increase in bank failures, customers may end up with additional government protection for their deposits.
From Bloomberg:
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. will ask Congress for permission to increase deposit insurance limits, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank said in a memorandum to members of his panel.
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Barney Frank Skewers GOP 'Hypersensitivity'
Continue reading… 17 CommentsThe Democratic-controlled House of Representatives might not have passed the bailout bill Monday, but the lefties certainly walked away with the best line of the day when Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts mocked GOP lawmakers for blaming the legislation's demise on a speech by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that they considered partisan.
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Why the House Rejected the Bailout Bill
Continue reading… 3 CommentsMy friend Ben Pershing at the Washington Post has a great piece about Monday's stunning failure of the bailout bill. He outlines five reasons why the House of Representatives rejected the legislation.
At the top of the list is "poor salesmanship" on the part of the administration.
From the Post:
1) Poor Salesmanship. Did you know that the general consensus is now that this bill will not cost $700 billion? If you didn't, it's because the bill's proponents did a poor marketing job. From the start, the Bush administration did not do enough to emphasize the point that taxpayers would get at least some of the money back, and that gigantic price tag got stuck in the head of the public (and the media).
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Did Nancy Pelosi's Speech Sink the Bailout?
Continue reading… 40 CommentsRepublicans say a speech by Speaker Nancy Pelosi caused the House of Representatives' surprising rejection of the $700 billion financial bailout bill Monday.
From the Associated Press:
Republicans blamed Pelosi's scathing speech near the close of the debate—which attacked Bush's economic policies and a "right-wing ideology of anything goes, no supervision, no discipline, no regulation" of financial markets—for the vote's failure.
"We could have gotten there today had it not been for the partisan speech that the speaker gave on the floor of the House," Minority Leader John Boehner said. Pelosi's words, the Ohio Republican said, "poisoned our conference, caused a number of members that we thought we could get, to go south."
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The Bailout Bill: Who Voted For and Against It
Continue reading… 14 CommentsThe $700 billion financial bailout bill was rejected by the House of Representatives Monday, shocking supporters and sending the markets into free-fall.
Here's a look at which members voted in favor and which ones opposed it.
From the Office of the Clerk of the House of Representatives, via L.A. Land:
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Outline of the Bailout Bill
Continue reading… 10 CommentsHere is a summary of the financial bailout bill that the House of Representatives rejected today.
From the House Financial Services Committee:
SUMMARY OF THE "EMERGENCY ECONOMIC STABILIZATION ACT OF 2008"
I. Stabilizing the Economy
The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) provides up to $700 billion to the Secretary of the Treasury to buy mortgages and other assets that are clogging the balance sheets of financial institutions and making it difficult for working families, small businesses, and other companies to access credit, which is vital to a strong and stable economy. EESA also establishes a program that would allow companies to insure their troubled assets.
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Money Market Guarantee Program FAQ
Continue reading… 2 CommentsThe Treasury Department on Monday released the following FAQ about its recently announced money market guarantee program:
Frequently Asked Questions About Treasury's Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds
How does an investor sign up to participate in the Treasury's Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds?
While the program protects the shares of all money market fund investors as of September 19, 2008, each money market fund makes the decision to sign up for the program. Investors cannot sign up for the program individually.
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Bill O'Reilly Has Bailout-Related Meltdown
Continue reading… 44 CommentsIn a flip-out approaching Al Pacino levels, conservative pundit Bill O'Reilly railed against a slew of public figures associated with the $700 billion bailout, saying at one point during his radio show, "I swear to God if they were in this room right now, I would hit them—Dodd and Frank!"
It's well worth a listen, and thanks to LA Land for the heads up.
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Ed McMahon Raps in FreeCreditReport.com Ad
Continue reading… 13 CommentsAfter nearly losing his house and appearing on the Larry King Show in a neck brace, Johnny Carson's former sidekick, Ed McMahon, has apparently sold his last remaining shred of dignity to FreeCreditReport.com.
McMahon has reportedly agreed to appear in commercials for the company in a tracksuit while rapping about his financial misfortunes.
The raps reportedly included references to ninjas, nunchucks, and "the haters."
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How Big Is JPMorgan With Washington Mutual?
Continue reading… 8 CommentsHere's a look at how expansive JPMorgan Chase will be after acquiring most of Washington Mutual's operations.
From JPMorgan Chase's press release:
Acquisition creates largest U.S. depository institution, with over $900 billion of customer deposits
Expansion into attractive California, Florida and Washington State markets creates nation's second-largest branch network; also strengthens existing presence in New York, Texas, Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey, Colorado, Connecticut and Utah
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JPMorgan Chase's Housing Outlook
Continue reading… 0 CommentsAs part of the investor presentation released in conjunction with its deal to acquire the majority of Washington Mutual's banking operations, JPMorgan Chase provided the following three-scenario outlook for home prices going forward.
From JPMorgan Chase, via Calculated Risk:
Home lending loss sensitivities
Current Estimates Deeper Recession Severe Recession Current to trough [Home Price Appreciation] California (10%) (14%) (24%) Florida (16) (21) (36) US (8) (11) (20) Peak to trough [Home Price Appreciation] California (44%) (48%) (58%) Florida (44) (49) (64) US (25) (28) (37) Unemployment (7.0%) (7.5%) (8.0%) -
How Lehman Brothers Took Out Washington Mutual
Continue reading… 11 CommentsAlthough Washington Mutual already had its hands full with a struggling mortgage portfolio—posting a $3.3 billion loss last quarter alone—it was a deposit run sparked by the bankruptcy of investment bank Lehman Brothers that led to the collapse of the Seattle-based banking company.
Federal regulators closed down WaMu and announced an agreement to sell most of its operations to JPMorgan for just under $2 billion on Thursday. The downfall of the $307 billion-asset WaMu represents the largest banking failure in U.S. history, dwarfing the 1984 failure of the $40 billion-asset Continental Illinois, which had previously held the distinction.
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Palin's Home Got Coast Guard 'Aquatic Protection'
Continue reading… 5 CommentsHow do you keep the potential next vice president of the United States safe while she's at her lakefront property?
The Coast Guard News has the details, via ZillowBlog:
The mostly placid waters of Lake Lucille in Wasilla, Alaska, aren't exactly the place where one might expect to spot a 25-foot Defender class patrol boat owned by the United States Coast Guard. On any normal day, you'd see a variety of canoes and skiffs plying the lake as folks practice their canoing strokes or try to catch rainbow trout. But that wasn't the case on September 11th through the 13th as Secret Service agents were faced with the challenge of providing aquatic protection for Vice Presidential candidate, Sarah Palin, during her two-day visit home. As such, the Secret Service turned to a local Coast Guard unit for assistance.
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The 10 Cities Most Safe From Natural Disasters
Continue reading… 13 CommentsEven wonder which cities are safest from natural disasters? In its 2008 US City Rankings, SustainLane tackled the question:
From the 2008 SustainLane US City Rankings:
SustainLane examined the 50 largest US cities, assessing natural disaster risk. This ranking was devised with SustainLane primary research as well as with information from Risk Management Solutions. We looked at hurricanes, major flooding, catastrophic hail, tornado super-outbreaks, and earthquakes, taking into consideration potential frequency of disaster as well as the extent of damage.
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New-Home Sales Down Sharply in August
Continue reading… 0 CommentsThe government released its August new-home sales report Thursday. Details below:
From the report:
Sales of new one-family houses in August 2008 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 460,000, according to estimates released jointly today by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is 11.5 percent below the revised July rate of 520,000 and is 34.5 percent below the August 2007 estimate of 702,000.
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Fannie, Freddie Takeover Takes Out Small Bank
Continue reading… 4 CommentsHere's a look at some additional troubling fallout from the government's recent takeover of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac:
From the American Banker:
Count Gateway Financial Holdings Inc. as another casualty in the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
By all accounts the $2.1 billion-asset Virginia Beach, Va., banking company has been a good performer, boasting fast growth and strong asset quality. But late last year it bought $40.4 million of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock that became nearly worthless when the government took them over this month.
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The Top 10 Foreclosure States (as of August)
Continue reading… 1 CommentRealtyTrac has released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for August.
From RealtyTrac, via The Real Estate Bloggers:
Foreclosure filings—default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions—were reported on 303,879 U.S. properties during the month, a 12 percent increase from the previous month and a 27 percent increase from August 2007. The report also shows one in every 416 U.S. households received a foreclosure filing during the month.
Which states have the highest foreclosure rates?
- Nevada: 1 in 91 homes
- California: 1 in 130 homes
- Arizona: 1 in 182 homes
- Florida: 1 in 194 homes
- Michigan: 1 in 332 homes
- Georgia: 1 in 422 homes
- Ohio: 1 in 444 homes
- Colorado: 1 in 452 homes
- Illinois: 1 in 483 homes
- Indiana: 1 in 522 homes
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What Sen. Charles Schumer Wants in the Bailout
Continue reading… 12 CommentsSpeaking at a hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, outlined several components he would like to see incorporated into the bailout, including the following:
From Schumer's prepared statement:
Spending the $700 billion in installments:
I think we must seriously consider putting this program in place in tranches, or installments—so that we do not limit the Secretary's ability to act as necessary, but are able to evaluate the effectiveness of these expenditures over time. If the program is working, the Congress will certainly ratify continuing expenditures by the Treasury. But if it is not working, then we will need to review it before we once again find ourselves on the brink.
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Existing-Home Sales Down, but Inventory Dips
Continue reading… 4 CommentsThe National Association of Realtors on Wednesday released its report on existing-home sales in August. Details below:
From NAR:
Nationally, existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—declined 2.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate [1] of 4.91 million units in August from an upwardly revised pace of 5.02 million in July, but are 10.7 percent below the 5.50 million-unit pace in August 2007...
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Agent Charged With Racial Steering
Continue reading… 3 CommentsAn Atlanta area real estate agent used race to steer white and black Americans posing as prospective home buyers to different neighborhoods, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said Tuesday.
HUD has charged real estate agent Rodney Foreman with racial steering. His former employer, Coldwell Banker-Joe T. Lane Realty Inc., of Jonesboro, Ga., has also been charged with Fair Housing Act violations, HUD said.
From HUD's press release:
Foreman's discriminatory actions were exposed during undercover testing by the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), a fair housing organization with 20 years of experience in fair housing testing. NFHA sent white and African-American testers to Coldwell Banker-Joe T. Lane Realty, Inc., posing as potential homebuyers looking to relocate to the Atlanta area. Foreman allegedly refused to show white testers homes in African-American neighborhoods and made derogatory statements about black residents. Foreman allegedly told one of the white testers that he had two sets of listings--one for white homebuyers and another for African-Americans.
