Archive for November, 2008
This is a classic case of too little too late from the U.S. government. For a problem that was a clear and present danger to the United States years ago, the Bush administration took action Friday (November 14, 2008) to strengthen government oversight of derivatives trading and close the loopholes that have allowed these complex products to avoid scrutiny. The agencies signed a memorandum of understanding to close the loopholes in their oversight of the complex products that are at the heart of the recent financial market meltdown.
Announced on November 12th, Citigroup Inc. said it will offer to modify terms on up to $20 billion in mortgages. The program will be extended to borrowers who are making their payments but are in danger of falling behind. It includes subprime borrowers as well as those with good credit who took out prime loans. The program is limited to customers whose mortgage payments equal more than 40 percent of their income.
A Massachusetts judge is blocking H&R Block from automatically foreclosing on up to 9,700 Bay State homeowners, ruling that the firm apparently wrote mortgages with “reckless disregard (for) the risk of foreclosure.”
Up until October 2004, my husband had steady employment as an aeronautical Engineer In early 2004 we refinanced with Beneficial Finance, a division of HSBC. Days after refinancing my husband was forced into early retirement. This also happened after hubby’s 401K plan through his employer lost 3/4 of its value. We lived carefully on a 401K plan that was on life support but in December 2007 we filed for a hardship case with Household Finance.
One out of every five Americans no owes more on their home than it is worth, according to research involving JPMorgan Chase’s decision to temporarily halt foreclosures. While that certainly is good news for many, it is not good news for investors and banks. “Prime mortgages, especially where there are pay-option ARMs involved, (are) becoming a broader issue,” said Charles Scharf, head of retail financial services at JPMorgan.