VIDEO: Take A Load Off Fannie - youtube

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has case details - Subprime Litigation: A Glimpse of the End Game? - Kevin LaCroix - The 2007 settlement of an Ontario securities class action may suggest the eventual direction of many of the lawsuits in the current subprime and credit crisis-related litigation wave. Even though the lawsuit was filed in a Canadian court and involved a company (FMF Capital Group Ltd.) whose shares traded only on a Canadian exchange, the lawsuit did arise from the early stages of the subprime mortgage meltdown in the U.S. - D&O Diary

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Wage-Price Spiral? Not Even Close. - …  Bottom Line: Unless, and until, we see core inflation and wage inflation rising, inflation can’t be a serious threat to the economy.  … - Carpe Diem
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China Construction Bank Cuts Fannie, Freddie Bond, MBS Holdings - China Construction Bank Corp. (0939.HK) said Monday it had cut its holdings of bonds and mortgage-backed securities related to Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) to just above US$2 billion by the end of July from US$3.2 billion at the end of June. - Dow Jones - CNNMoney.com 

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America’s Most Distressed Housing Markets - Matt Woolsey - … “Nationally, one-third of homes are underwater, and 20% of transactions happening across the country are foreclosures,” says Stan Humphries, vice president of data and analytics at Zillow.com, an online aggregator of real estate listings and public sales records. “That’s what drives up the number of home sales for a loss.”  … - Forbes 

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For 2008 Vintage, Fraud Abounds in Florida, California - Paul Jackson - Origination/Lending -   As the housing downturn in the United States continues to run its course, reported incidents of mortgage fraud are on the rise as well. But it’s not what you think; while fraud on 2007 and earlier vintages is just now coming to light, a new report suggested Monday that newly-reported incidents of mortgage fraud increased by 42 percent in the first quarter of this year. … - housingwire

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JPMorgan takes $600 mln hit on Fannie, Freddie pfd - … Other financial institutions, particularly smaller regional banks, could also be hit by losses on their holdings of GSE preferred stock, according to a report issued by Keefe, Bruyette and Woods on Monday, pinpointing Sovereign Bancorp and Westamerica Bancorp, among others, as having “significant exposure.”  … - guardian..co.uk 
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Better choice: Fund IRA or pay down mortgage? - Sixtysomething plans to retire in 10 months - Ilyce Glink - inman news

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S&P “Very Cautious” on US Regional Bank Credit Quality -  Standard and Poor’s is “very cautious” about the outlook for US regional banks, despite the fact that they have fared better than their larger counterparts so far. - Research Recap

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about FHA - Lending Over Backward - Joshua Zumbrun and Maurna Desmond - … “Nobody is talking is talking about it, but in three years the FHA bailout is going to cost taxpayers at least $100 billion dollars,” said Guy Cecala, a mortgage industry insider and publisher of Inside Mortgage Finance … - Forbes

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Citigroup Limits Meetings, Color Photocopies to Reduce Costs - Joyce Moullakis - Bloomberg

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Understanding Remodeling Cycles - Abbe Will - This paper assesses the cyclical nature of the remodeling industry between 1987 and 2007, and how remodeling cycles relate to cycles in the homebuilding industry and the broader economy. This research finds that remodeling activity is pro-cyclical with both new residential construction and the broader economy, but remodeling seems to lag homebuilding by several
quarters. … - JCHS Harvard W08-6 
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Fed’s Plosser: hike rates sooner not later: report - Reuters

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Will economy’s path be shaped like a U, V, W or L? - ELLEN SIMON - AP Houston Chronicle