From James Hagerty at the WSJ writes about a Barclays Capital report: Supply of Foreclosed Homes on the Rise Again Hagerty notes that the analysts at Barclays Capital estimate that various lenders held 645,800 REO (Real Estate Owned) in January, up 4.6% from 617,286 in December.Also Barclays estimated the peak supply was in November 2008 at 845,000, and then […]
In a recent email to agents on March 16th, the California Association of Realtors (C.A.R.) points out that making undisclosed 2nd lien payments in a short sale transaction could be a crime and punishable by up to 30 years in prison.The email points out that undisclosed payments might violate HUD's RESPA (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act) and laws a […]
Almost finished ...For a discussion on how trades settle, and the coming associated expansion of the Fed's balance sheet over the next few months, please see my post last week.From the Atlanta Fed weekly Financial Highlights released today (as of last week):Click on graph for larger image in new window.Graph Source: Altanta Fed.This graph shows the cumu […]
Here’s a laugher: “In a detailed review of the causes of the financial crisis, former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledged a range of regulatory failures but strongly disputed the widely held view that the Fed left interest rates too low for too long.” Oh, it gets even worse: “In Mr. Greenspan’s 48-page review o […]
Amusing Cartoon — I suspect the worst of the Greek scare is behind us, and push comes to shove, the ECB and the EU wont let the European Union spin a part: > […]
The US$ is at the high of the day vs the euro coincident with Greek CDS at the wides of the morning by 20 bps to 307 bps following the news this morning. This level is a 2 week high. In sympathy, CDS is wider in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Ireland. Bond yields are higher [...] […]
How about this for a new and ingenious real estate money machine? Every time a house sells during the next 99 years, 1 percent of the price goes back to the original developer or is shared among investor partners. Ka-ching! […]
The number of passengers boarding planes at Raleigh-Durham International Airport dropped 2.4 percent in February, according to preliminary statistics released Thursday at the monthly meeting of RDU’s governing authority. […]
Papandreou said Greece isn't seeking financial aid from either the EU or the IMF even as the country struggles to fix its finances. Germany, meanwhile, signaled it might support a joint EU-IMF bailout. […]
Department of Energy documents and a consultant's report cast doubt on the reliability of figures that affect the production and prices of the world's most important industrial commodity. […]