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Of Course You Know This Means War, But Is It Bearish? | RFWS Podcast ($$)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 00:18:39 GMT

Russ Winter of Winter (Economic and Market) Watch and the Wall Street Examiner’s Lee Adler discuss the likelihood of war in the Persian Gulf. Russ thinks it will start in 3 weeks. But is it bearish or bullish. Lee isn’t sure, and gives his targets for the market, which remain significantly higher.

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Citizens boosted home values to raise premiums, suit says

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:20:17 GMT

"Some homeowners have filed a class-action lawsuit against Citizens Property, charging that it overvalued their homes to raise premiums."

BofA Said to Put Off Refinancing Clients as Demand Rises

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:15:43 GMT

"Bank of America Corp., struggling to handle mortgage refinancing after a U.S. program boosted demand, is telling some customers to wait 90 days before starting an application, said two people with knowledge of the policy."

Arizona leaning toward joining $25 billion foreclosure settlement with banks

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:13:26 GMT

"Arizona is one of a handful of states that have not yet agreed to a potential $25 billion mortgage settlement for suffering homeowners, but the state hopes to join soon, officials said."

Will Iran Be Attacked?

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:09:22 GMT

"Washington has made tremendous preparations for a military assault on Iran. There is speculation that Washington has called off its two longest running wars--Iraq and Afghanistan--in order to deploy forces against Iran. Two of Washington's fleets have been assigned to the Persian Gulf along with NATO warships. Missiles have been spread amongst Washington's Oil Emirate and Middle Eastern puppet states. US troops have been deployed in Israel and Kuwait."

Debt crisis a lot worse than Washington will admit

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:06:48 GMT

"Unless you've been living on Mars, it shouldn't surprise you to hear our country is broke. However, what should surprise you is that the true extent of our country's debt crisis is a lot worse than anyone is letting on."

SEC Money-Market Fund Regulations Could Increase Bank Loan Rates

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:05:48 GMT

``The cost for banks and other borrowers to raise funds in short-term markets could jump if regulatory proposals for money market funds result in large redemptions in the industry.''

The Federal Reserve's Explicit Goal: Devalue The Dollar 33%

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 15:29:07 GMT

... an increase of 2% a year over a period of 20 years will lead to a 50% increase in the price level. It will take 150 (2032) dollars to purchase the same basket of goods 100 (2012) dollars can buy today. What will be called the "dollar" in 2032 will be worth one-third less (100/150) than what we call a dollar today.

The Fed's zero interest rate policy accentuates the negative consequences of this steady erosion in the dollar's buying power by imposing a negative return on short-term bonds and bank deposits. In effect, the Fed has announced a course of action that will steal -- there is no better word for it -- nearly 10 percent of the value of American's hard earned savings over the next 4 years.

BOE May Increase Its Asset-Purchase Target to $510 Billion

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:37:15 GMT

``The nine-member Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Mervyn King will increase its bond-purchase program by 50 billion pounds ($79 billion) to 325 billion pounds, according to 35 of 51 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Fifteen economists forecast a 75 billion-pound increase, and one no change.''

The SEC's Wrist-Slap Factory

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:26:56 GMT

``Even as the Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up its investigations of Wall Street in the last decade, the agency has repeatedly allowed the biggest firms to avoid punishments specifically meant to apply to fraud cases... An analysis by The New York Times of S.E.C. investigations over the last decade found nearly 350 instances where the agency has given big Wall Street institutions and other financial companies a pass on those or other sanctions. Those instances also include waivers permitting firms to underwrite certain stock and bond sales and manage mutual fund portfolios.''

IT'S UNANIMOUS! AZ's SB 1451 Passes Senate Banking Committee

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:39:52 GMT

``Arizona's hundreds of thousands of hopelessly underwater homeowners are having the best day they've had since the "days of equity" back in 2006. Even with opposition from professional obstructionists to change-in-anything-mortgage-related like MERS own William Hultman, and other banking industry lobbyists including James Lundy, president of the Arizona Bankers Association, among others... the state's Senate Banking & Insurance Committee's hearing this afternoon on SB 1451, the Housing Finance Reform Act of 2012, went exceptionally well. The bill not only passed, but it passed unanimously... '6′ Ayes to '0′ Nays.''

Far From Wall Street, Banks Are Being Punished For Misdeeds

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:35:08 GMT

"Though allegations of fraud on Wall Street inspire public outrage and grab the headlines due to big banks' outsize influence on the economy, the banks' mid-size competitors around the country played no small role in helping crash the economy. In just the last few days, three disturbing examples have surfaced."

JPMorgan Chase May Foreclose On Civil Rights-Era Activist During Campaign To 'Fulfill' MLK's 'Vision'

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:32:52 GMT

"In the midst of a campaign to help "fulfill" the "vision" of Martin Luther King Jr., JPMorgan Chase has come under fire for threatening to evict an elderly Civil Rights-era activist."

Faulty Loans Top $72 Billion as Banks Seek Deal With Regulators: Mortgages

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:29:52 GMT

"Costs from faulty mortgages and shoddy foreclosures have topped $72 billion at the biggest U.S. banks as they near a settlement of a 50-state probe into the industry's practices."

Robo-Signing Forgery Charge Hits First Top Executive In Financial Crisis

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:27:35 GMT

"A grand jury in Missouri handed up the 136-count indictment late last week charging Georgia-based DocX -- a subsidiary of the massive mortgage processor Lender Processing Services -- and its founder and former president Lorraine O. Brown, with forgery. The indictment alleges that DocX employees fabricated signatures on hundreds of real estate documents, some used in foreclosures."

Deutsche Bank Wins Dismissal of Two Mortgage Bond Suits That Alleged Fraud

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:26:06 GMT

"U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan, in an order filed yesterday, dismissed two separate lawsuits by Brussels- based Dexia SA and Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America. The investors had "in certain key respects" failed to provide sufficient particular facts to support their fraud allegations, the judge said."

More US states to join foreclosure-abuse deal

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:24:58 GMT

"Arizona, Michigan and Florida, three of the states hit hardest by the housing crisis, will join a nationwide settlement over foreclosure abuses, officials with direct knowledge say. They will join more than 40 other states in approving a deal that would benefit many Americans who lost their homes or can't afford their mortgages."

BofA Plaza Goes for $235M in Auction

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:22:47 GMT

``Bank of America Plaza, the tallest tower in the U.S. Southeast, was sold at a public auction today on the steps of the Fulton County Courthouse after landlord BentleyForbes missed mortgage payments.''

Banks Paying as Much as $35,000 Cash to Homeowners in Short Sales; Why and How Many?

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:22:21 GMT

If the answer is "it's faster, quicker, cheaper" than foreclosures, then why don't we see more of them, lots more of them?
Could it be these are the real problem loans with clouded titles, questionable practices by lenders, or huge numbers of written complaints by borrowers? Add to that a dearth of willing new borrowers and I think you have the answer.

Deadbeats ‘Bailing Out' Deadbeats

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:12:19 GMT

Surely even the media drones and market "experts" can understand the concept that one deadbeat with no money cannot (financially) bail out another deadbeat with no money?