It’s 2026, and the Debt Is Due
For more: http://nyti.ms/h0v6LN
The following is a presidential
address to the nation — to be
delivered in March 2026.
MY fellow Americans, I come to you today with a heavy heart. We have a crisis on our hands. It is one of our own making. And it is one that leaves us with no good choices.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Note to Banks: It’s Not 2006 Anymore
For more: http://nyti.ms/fsMDQX
NOSTALGIA is running high on Wall Street for the days when junk mortgage underwriting and opaque derivatives trading juiced bank profits. As regulators continue to devise the machinery of the Dodd-Frank regulatory reform law, major financial institutions are working overtime in Washington to bring the good times back again.
For more: http://nyti.ms/fsMDQX
NOSTALGIA is running high on Wall Street for the days when junk mortgage underwriting and opaque derivatives trading juiced bank profits. As regulators continue to devise the machinery of the Dodd-Frank regulatory reform law, major financial institutions are working overtime in Washington to bring the good times back again.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Mortgage Rates Increase; 30-Year Fixed at 4.81%
For more: http://bit.ly/ftwtbX
Mortgage rates increased in the latest week, with the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages edging closer to 5%, though it remained lower than a year earlier.
For more: http://bit.ly/ftwtbX
Mortgage rates increased in the latest week, with the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages edging closer to 5%, though it remained lower than a year earlier.
A Matter of Trust: Giving Away a Home
For more: http://bit.ly/eXigLd
Depressed real-estate values and changes in tax rules make this a good time for older homeowners to transfer property to their children using a specialized trust designed to save on gift and estate taxes.
For more: http://bit.ly/eXigLd
Depressed real-estate values and changes in tax rules make this a good time for older homeowners to transfer property to their children using a specialized trust designed to save on gift and estate taxes.
Retirement 101: How to Figure Out What You'll Need
For more: http://bit.ly/fcoicX
Columnist Brett Arends offers six quick steps to find out whether you'll be eating cat food instead of caviar in retirement—and what you can do about it.
For more: http://bit.ly/fcoicX
Columnist Brett Arends offers six quick steps to find out whether you'll be eating cat food instead of caviar in retirement—and what you can do about it.
Fannie Report Warned of Foreclosure Problems in 2006
For more: http://bit.ly/eS4eXd
The report from an outside law firm hired by the company came long before regulators launched probes into the mortgage-service industry's practices.
For more: http://bit.ly/eS4eXd
The report from an outside law firm hired by the company came long before regulators launched probes into the mortgage-service industry's practices.
Eyes Open, WaMu Still Failed
For more: http://nyti.ms/fI8cRk
In the crazy days of 2005 and 2006, when home prices were soaring and mortgage underwriting standards were crumbling, it took foresight and judgment to see that it was all a bubble.
For more: http://nyti.ms/fI8cRk
In the crazy days of 2005 and 2006, when home prices were soaring and mortgage underwriting standards were crumbling, it took foresight and judgment to see that it was all a bubble.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Pondering Risks in Retirement
For more: http://nyti.ms/eHf7Lf
Frances and Jim Langerfeld know exactly how much they spent as newlyweds in August 1968. Rent for their house: $115. Groceries at Publix: $12.26. A suit for Mr. Langerfeld: $62.68. It is all meticulously detailed in an orange budgeting book that Mrs. Langerfeld pulled from her garage one recent evening. She kept several others, which offer a window into their family’s financial life.
For more: http://nyti.ms/eHf7Lf
Frances and Jim Langerfeld know exactly how much they spent as newlyweds in August 1968. Rent for their house: $115. Groceries at Publix: $12.26. A suit for Mr. Langerfeld: $62.68. It is all meticulously detailed in an orange budgeting book that Mrs. Langerfeld pulled from her garage one recent evening. She kept several others, which offer a window into their family’s financial life.
A Homeowner With No Savings, but Some Options
For more: http://nyti.ms/ibNuXF\
If you’re worried that you haven’t saved enough for retirement, you’re probably right. Most of us haven’t. In fact, the Employee Benefit Research Institute found the majority of American workers had put away less than $25,000 for their golden years.
For more: http://nyti.ms/ibNuXF\
If you’re worried that you haven’t saved enough for retirement, you’re probably right. Most of us haven’t. In fact, the Employee Benefit Research Institute found the majority of American workers had put away less than $25,000 for their golden years.
New-Home Sales Plummet With No End In Sight
For more: http://nyti.ms/fDb3MO
Sales of new homes fell in February to the lowest level on records dating back nearly half a century, a dismal sign for an already weak housing market.
For more: http://nyti.ms/fDb3MO
Sales of new homes fell in February to the lowest level on records dating back nearly half a century, a dismal sign for an already weak housing market.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
10 ways to prepare for a personal financial crisis
For more: http://bit.ly/fJ9MaS
The thought of being hit with a major negative event that could affect your finances, like a job loss, illness or car accident, can keep anyone awake at night. But the prospect of something expensive, and beyond your control, happening becomes less threatening if you're properly prepared. This article will describe 10 steps you can take to minimize the impact of a personal financial crisis.
For more: http://bit.ly/fJ9MaS
The thought of being hit with a major negative event that could affect your finances, like a job loss, illness or car accident, can keep anyone awake at night. But the prospect of something expensive, and beyond your control, happening becomes less threatening if you're properly prepared. This article will describe 10 steps you can take to minimize the impact of a personal financial crisis.
Weak sales, foreclosures push home prices down
For more: http://bit.ly/eUrCiM
A third of all sales were purchased in cash - twice the rate from a year ago. In troubled housing markets such as Las Vegas and Miami, cash deals represent about half of the sales.
For more: http://bit.ly/eUrCiM
A third of all sales were purchased in cash - twice the rate from a year ago. In troubled housing markets such as Las Vegas and Miami, cash deals represent about half of the sales.
New homes are becoming a bad deal in weak markets
For more: http://bit.ly/fbUqtL
A wave of foreclosures has driven down the cost of previously occupied homes and made them even more of a comparative bargain. By contrast, new homes have become more expensive.
For more: http://bit.ly/fbUqtL
A wave of foreclosures has driven down the cost of previously occupied homes and made them even more of a comparative bargain. By contrast, new homes have become more expensive.
5 Weird Ways to Pay for College
For more: http://bit.ly/igctn6
Just how desperate are people getting about saving for college? Last month, an anonymous parent in the Boston area posted an ad on Craigslist offering to sell his body parts to pay for his kids' $200,000 in student loans. "Use my body for anything legal, or medically experimental," read the post, which has since been taken down. "Simply pay off all of my children's loans and you can use me anyway you need."
For more: http://bit.ly/igctn6
Just how desperate are people getting about saving for college? Last month, an anonymous parent in the Boston area posted an ad on Craigslist offering to sell his body parts to pay for his kids' $200,000 in student loans. "Use my body for anything legal, or medically experimental," read the post, which has since been taken down. "Simply pay off all of my children's loans and you can use me anyway you need."
Banks Hit for Credit Union Ills
For more: http://bit.ly/dMDWdS
The National Credit Union Administration is demanding that several Wall Street firms bear the losses incurred on collapsed securities sold to firms that invest credit unions' customer deposits.
For more: http://bit.ly/dMDWdS
The National Credit Union Administration is demanding that several Wall Street firms bear the losses incurred on collapsed securities sold to firms that invest credit unions' customer deposits.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Home sales down in Louisville
For more: http://bit.ly/9qWTDa
Greater Louisville Association of Realtors members sold 5 percent fewer homes in February compared to the same time a year earlier, the group reported.
For more: http://bit.ly/9qWTDa
Greater Louisville Association of Realtors members sold 5 percent fewer homes in February compared to the same time a year earlier, the group reported.
Treasury to Test Mortgage Market
For more: http://nyti.ms/idLRyv
The Treasury Department will lead the way testing the $4.6 trillion mortgage-backed securities market. Timothy F. Geithner, who leads the agency, said on Monday that the Treasury would begin offloading $142 billion of mortgage bonds accumulated during the financial crisis.
For more: http://nyti.ms/idLRyv
The Treasury Department will lead the way testing the $4.6 trillion mortgage-backed securities market. Timothy F. Geithner, who leads the agency, said on Monday that the Treasury would begin offloading $142 billion of mortgage bonds accumulated during the financial crisis.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Ohio law students offer residents foreclosure help
For more: http://bit.ly/i0jrQQ
Dozens of students at Capital Law School in Columbus are trying to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their properties as part of a pro-bono program.
For more: http://bit.ly/i0jrQQ
Dozens of students at Capital Law School in Columbus are trying to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their properties as part of a pro-bono program.
Social Security Benefits for Kids
For more: http://bit.ly/g5UJHy
What's the best way for my children to benefit from my Social Security earnings? Can my children inherit money from my IRA when my wife is the primary beneficiary? I am retired, single, and want to marry again; will our taxes increase whether we file separately or jointly?
For more: http://bit.ly/g5UJHy
What's the best way for my children to benefit from my Social Security earnings? Can my children inherit money from my IRA when my wife is the primary beneficiary? I am retired, single, and want to marry again; will our taxes increase whether we file separately or jointly?
Educated, Unemployed and Frustrated
For more: http://nyti.ms/gvwAhu
WE all enjoy speculating about which Arab regime will be toppled next, but maybe we should be looking closer to home. High unemployment? Check. Out-of-touch elites? Check. Frustrated young people? As a 24-year-old American, I can testify that this rich democracy has plenty of those too.
For more: http://nyti.ms/gvwAhu
WE all enjoy speculating about which Arab regime will be toppled next, but maybe we should be looking closer to home. High unemployment? Check. Out-of-touch elites? Check. Frustrated young people? As a 24-year-old American, I can testify that this rich democracy has plenty of those too.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
More Borrowers Are Opting for Adjustable-Rate Mortgages
For more: http://nyti.ms/eB3gR2
IN the years since the financial crisis, adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, with their low initial interest rates that changed over time, have been considered riskier than fixed-rate loans and shunned by most buyers. But these days more people are being persuaded to give the loans a try.
For more: http://nyti.ms/eB3gR2
IN the years since the financial crisis, adjustable-rate mortgages, or ARMs, with their low initial interest rates that changed over time, have been considered riskier than fixed-rate loans and shunned by most buyers. But these days more people are being persuaded to give the loans a try.
TARP’s Watchdog: A Tough Act to Follow
For more: http://nyti.ms/dTNlUz
THE American taxpayer will lose a rare straight shooter when Neil M. Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, leaves his post on March 30. In his frequent testimony before Congress and in the nine quarterly reports and 13 audits his office has published, Mr. Barofsky has served taxpayers well by speaking truth to the powers at the Treasury.
For more: http://nyti.ms/dTNlUz
THE American taxpayer will lose a rare straight shooter when Neil M. Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, leaves his post on March 30. In his frequent testimony before Congress and in the nine quarterly reports and 13 audits his office has published, Mr. Barofsky has served taxpayers well by speaking truth to the powers at the Treasury.
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