Feb 14, 2011 - HOUSING FINANCE FROM THE GREAT DEPRESSION TO THE GREAT RECESSION  

Nearly eighty years ago, in the midst of the Great Depression, the federal government began implementing sweeping reforms to the American financial system. These reforms – deposit insurance, limits on the risks banks can take, better transparency and investor protections in securities markets, a stronger Federal Reserve – helped build a financial system that provided a solid foundation for America’s unprecedented prosperity. (Page 5)¹

Improving how housing was financed was an important part of these broader Depression-era reforms. In the 1930s, following severe mortgage market disruptions, widespread foreclosures, and sinking homeownership rates, the government created the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”), Fannie Mae, the Federal Home Loan Banks (“FHLBs”) and, several decades later, Freddie Mac to help promote secure and sustainable homeownership for future generations of Americans. (Page 5)¹

Feb. 28, 2011 - Consumer Spending in U.S. Climbed Less Than Economists Forecast in January - Bloomberg

Consumer spending cooled more than forecast in January as rising food and fuel prices caused Americans to cut back on post-holiday visits to malls and restaurants.

Purchases rose 0.2 percent, the smallest gain since June, as winter storms may have also discouraged shoppers, according to figures from the Commerce Department today in Washington. A report from Chicago-area purchasing managers showed businesses expanded in February at the fastest pace in two decades.

Jan. 11, 2011 - Downturn's Ugly Trademark: Steep, Lasting Drop in Wages -  The Wall Street Journal

In California, former auto worker Maria Gregg was out of work five months last year before landing a new job—at a nearly 20% pay cut.

In Massachusetts, Kevin Cronan, who lost his $150,000-a-year job as a money manager in early 2009, is now frothing cappuccinos at a Starbucks for $8.85 an hour. 

Jan. 3, 2011 - Colony's $800M FDIC Loan Buy  Fueling Argent Partnership -Citybiz

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Argent Management LLC and Colony Capital LLC are partnering on the acquisition and management of an $800 million portfolio of land assets that were recently acquired from the FDIC.

The California-based partnership previously had a $400 million portfolio under its watch, with the expansion pushing the grand total to $1.2 billion of assets. Colony Capital is leading the consortium of investors that purchased the FDIC offering of loans secured by residential and commercial land assets in at least 18 states, including Florida, Michigan and Utah. The properties were seized by the FDIC from failed banks.

Oct. 6, 2010 - Middle Class Slams Brakes on Spending - Wall Street Journal  

Middle-class Americans made their deepest spending cuts in more than two decades, slashing spending on such discretionary items as restaurant meals and alcohol during the recession.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703298504575534341401915382

Jan. 6, 2011 - Gallup Finds Unemployment at 9.6% in December -  Gallup

PRINCETON, NJ -- Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 9.6% at the end of December -- up from 9.3% in mid-December and 8.8% at the end of November.

Oct. 6, 2010 - ADP Estimates U.S. Companies Cut 39,000 Jobs in September - Bloomberg

Companies in the U.S. unexpectedly cut jobs in September, data from a private report based on payrolls showed today. 

Employment decreased by 39,000, the biggest drop since January, after a revised 10,000 rise in August, according to figures from ADP Employer Services. The median estimate of 37 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for a 20,000 gain. Forecasts ranged from a decline of 44,000 to a 75,000 increase.

Oct. 5, 2010 - U.S. Unemployment in the Aftermath of the Great Recession - TD Financial Group

Nothing brings home the severity of the Great Recession quite like conditions in the U.S. labor market. The recession ravages payrolls, cutting close to 8.4 million jobs and erasing over a decade of job growth.

U.S. State Employment Monitor - Trends and Developments - TD Bank Financial Group

The national unemployment rate rose slightly to 9.6% in August.

Sept. 29, 2010 - Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary - Bureau of Labor Statistics

Mar. 8, 2011 - BofA Segregates Almost Half of its Mortgages Into ‘Bad Bank’ - Bloomberg

Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender by assets, is segregating almost half its 13.9 million mortgages into a “bad” bank comprised of its riskiest and worst-performing “legacy” loans, said Terry Laughlin, who is running the new unit.

“We are creating a classic good bank, bad bank structure,” Laughlin told investors at a meeting in New York today. He was promoted last month to manage the costs of resolving disputes stemming from the company’s 2008 purchase of Countrywide Financial Corp. “We’re going to get after this, we’re going to do it the right way and we’re going to put it to bed in the next 36 months,” he said.

Feb. 11, 2011 - Former F.D.I.C Deal Maker Joins Goldman Sachs -  New York Times

Joseph Jiampietro, one of the government’s top deal makers during the financial crisis, has joined Goldman Sachs as a senior investment banker covering the financial services industry.

Mr. Jiampietro was previously a senior adviser toSheila C. Bair, the chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, during the throes of the financial crisis, where he helped coordinate more than 100 government-assisted bank deals.

 

Feb. 11, 2011 - White House declares Fannie, Freddie model 'dead' - Bloomberg

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner presented Congress with a set of options for weaning the US$11 trillion mortgage market from its dependence on the government, while calling for changes to be phased in “responsibly and carefully” to avoid economic disruptions.

Bank Failures 2008 - 2010 - The Street

Map of 2008-2010 bank failures.

Oct. 5, 2010 - FDIC dissects Elijay bank's failure - Atlanta Business Chronicle

The report, drafted by the Inspector General's office of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reads like a rewrite of dozens of other FDIC post-mortems of failed Georgia banks.

Aug. 27, 2009 - FDIC Adopts Weaker Rules to Attract LBO Firms to Failed Banks - Bloomberg

As expected, the restrictions on private-equity firms interested in banks were eased from what was proposed in July.  However, the restrictions are still tougher on Private Equity than on their bank competitors.

Jul. 3, 2009 - Buyout Firms Say FDIC's Proposed Takeover Rules May Go Too Far – Bloomberg

Private Equity firms say that the recently proposed bank takeover rules are too strict and will discourage investment from buyout groups.

Feb. 28, 2011 - Pending Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Decline by 2.8%, More Than Forecast - Bloomberg

The number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes fell in January, a sign the industry that triggered the recession was struggling at the start of 2011.

The index of pending home resales dropped 2.8 percent after a revised 3.2 percent decrease the prior month that was initially reported as a gain, figures from the National Association of Realtors showed today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of economists called for a 2.3 percent decrease.

Feb. 24, 2011 - Sales of new homes fall a shocking 11.2% - CNN Money

The new year has brought little cheer to new-home builders: Their sales fell a shocking 11.2% between December and January and 18.6% from 12 months earlier.

The total number of new homes sold in January was a seasonally adjusted 284,000, down from 325,000 in December, the government said Thursday.

Feb. 24, 2011 -Sales of New U.S. Homes Fell More Than Forecast in January - Bloomberg

Purchases of new houses in the U.S. fell more than forecast in January, reflecting declines in the West and South that indicate a California tax credit and bad weather may have played a role.

Sales declined 13 percent to a 284,000 annual pace, figures from the Commerce Department showed today in Washington. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a decrease to a 305,000 rate. Demand dropped 37 percent in the West and 13 percent in the South.

Feb. 24, 2011 - Home Prices in U.S. Decline 4% on Foreclosures, FHFA Says  - Bloomberg

U.S. home prices fell 4 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier as record foreclosures sapped the confidence of homebuyers, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The drop was the 13th consecutive year-over-year retreat and the largest since 2009’s third quarter, the Washington-based agency said today in a report. Prices fell 0.8 percent from the prior three months. On that basis, economists projected a 0.6 percent decline, the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Feb. 22, 2011 - Home prices plummet in most big US cities - Yahoo Finance

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Home prices are hitting new depths in most major U.S. cities and are expected to fall further over the next six months.

In a majority of metro areas tracked by Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller, prices have fallen to their lowest points since the housing bubble burst.

Feb. 22, 2011 - Existing home sales overcounting "minor": NAR - Reuters

The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday any overcounting of U.S. existing home sales in its data was "relatively minor", dismissing claims it could have overstated sales by as much as 20 percent.

The Realtors group said it was consulting with a range of experts to determine whether there was a drift in its monthly existing home sales data.

Feb. 14, 2011 - Housing Crash Is Hitting Cities Once Thought to Be Stable -   CNBC

Few believed the housing market here would ever collapse. Now they wonder if it will ever stop slumping. 

The rolling real estate crash that ravaged Florida and the Southwest is delivering a new wave of distress to communities once thought to be immune economically diversified cities where the boom was relatively restrained. 

Feb. 11, 2011 - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 101: How much will we miss them? -   The Christian Science Monitor

Since the financial crisis began, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which buy and insure mortgages, have needed $150 billion in support from Uncle Sam. Now, the US Treasury is exploring ways to wind down its involvement with the mortgage giants

Jan. 31, 2011 - CRE "extend and pretend" reaching breaking point - Housingwire

For 2011, 10 of the 11 banks that have closed so far showed bad commercial real estate loans taking the lion's share of the distressed loan book.

In six of those cases, losses on bad construction loans made up more than half of the bank's nonperforming loans.

Jan. 31, 2011 - Shiller: Home Prices May Slide for Years - MoneyNews 

 Yale economist Robert Shiller says housing prices could continue to fall for years to come. “The peak in the market was around 2006; it went down for three years and if it behaved the same way it had in the last cycle, it would continue going down for years more,” Shiller told the Business Insider.

Jan. 25, 2011 - Colony Capital Prevails in FDIC Acquisitions - Wall Street Journal

Colony Capital LLC, the real-estate-focused firm that made headlines and raised eyebrows last year by joining a group that bought Miramax Films, is now emerging as one of the dominant players in the acquisition of distressed assets from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

(need subscription to read)

Jan. 20, 2011 - Home sales hit 13-year low; slow recovery ahead -  My Way

WASHINGTON (AP) - The number of people who bought previously owned homes last year fell to the lowest level in 13 years, and economists say it will be years before the housing market fully recovers.

High unemployment and a record number of foreclosures are deterring potential buyers who fear home prices haven't reached the bottom. Job growth is expected to pick up this year, but not enough to raise home sales to healthier levels.

Jan. 12, 2011 - Competition Thinning for FDIC Real Estate Deals? -  The Wall Street Journal

A year ago, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was practically the only game in town for anyone wanting to buy up giant portfolios of distressed commercial real estate loans, attracting long lines of bidders for the bundles of mortgages it gleaned from the books of failed banks.

But today, the lines are getting shorter, so reports one of the more successful bidders on FDIC portfolios

Dec. 29, 2011 - Housing price declines increase strategic default risk -  Housing Wire

Home prices are expected to drop another 20% before hitting bottom, according to economists at A. Gary Shilling & Co., raising the risk that 40% of borrowers will walk away from their home in a strategic default.

The firm reported in its December Investment Insight that home prices are already 30% below their peak in the first quarter of 2006 and fell 2% between the second and third quarters of 2010.

Dec. 29, 2011 - Home foreclosures jump in 3rd quarter: regulators -  Reuters

The regulators said one reason for the increase in foreclosures is that banks have "exhausted" options for keeping many delinquent borrowers in their homes through programs such as loan modifications.

Newly-initiated foreclosures increased to 382,000 in the third quarter, a 31.2 percent jump over the previous quarter and a 3.7 percent rise from the same quarter a year ago, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) said in a quarterly mortgage report.

Dec. 16, 2010 - CoreLogic® Home Price Index hows Decline for Third Straight Month -  The Wall Street Journal

CoreLogic (CLGX 20.38, +0.05, +0.25%), a leading provider of information, analytics and business services, today released its October Home Price Index (HPI) which shows that home prices in the U.S. declined for the third month in a row. According to the CoreLogic HPI, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 3.93 percent in October 2010 compared to October 2009 and declined by 2.43 percent* in September 2010 compared to September 2009. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 1.5 percent in October 2010 compared to October 2009.

Dec. 14, 2010 - Obama's Foreclosure Program Will Reach Less Than One Quarter Of Administration's Target - The Huffington Post 

The Obama administration's signature anti-foreclosure program will ultimately aid less than a quarter of the nearly four million distressed homeowners it was originally supposed to help, according to a Congressional report released Tuesday.

Dec. 13, 2010 - FDIC Plans to Sell $1 Billion of Bonds Tied to Real Estate -  Bloomberg

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plans to sell almost $1 billion of securities tied to residential and commercial real-estate debt once held by failed banks, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

The agency is selling guaranteed notes backed by the debt, said the person, who declined to be identified because the transactions are private.

Dec. 13, 2010 - Fewer U.S. Homes 'Underwater' as Foreclosures Mount - Bloomberg 

The number of U.S. homes worth less than the debt owed on them dropped in the third quarter, largely because of mounting foreclosures rather than a rise in property values, according to CoreLogic Inc

Dec. 9, 2010 - U.S. Home Values to Drop by 1.7 Trillion The Year, Zillow Says - Bloomberg

U.S. home values are poised to drop by more than $1.7 trillion this year amid rising foreclosures and the expiration of homebuyer tax credits, said Zillow Inc., a closely held provider of home price data.

Nov. 30, 2010 - Case Shiller: Here are the 15 Housing Markets that will Fall the Most by 2012 - Business Insider 

 Case-Shiller's September housing report came out worse than expected, confirming to any dougters that the housing double dip is here.

National home prices dropped 1.5% in September 

Oct. 27, 2010 - FDIC Head Sounds Alarm on Forclosure Litigation - Reuters

Litigation arising from forclosure paperwork problems could be "very damaging" to the housing market, a top U.S. banking regulator said Monday. 

Oct. 1, 2010 - Foreclosure Errors Cloud Homeownership With 'Blighted Titles' - Bloomberg

U.S. courts are clogged with a record number of foreclosures. Next, they may be jammed with suits contesting property rights as procedural mistakes in those cases cloud titles establishing ownership.

Sept. 29, 2010 - Home Loan demand down despite record low rates - Reuters

U.S. mortgage applications fell for a fourth straight week, reflecting the inability of many homeowners to take advantage of record low interest rates, data from an industry group showed us Wednesday.

Sept. 27, 2010 - Commercial Real Estate Loan Prices Rise in August - DebtX

Prices continue upward trend that began in January

Mar. 17, 2011 - Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac: Too Big to Wind Down? -   Yahoo Finance

"It is very important that we wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at a careful and deliberate pace," Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said at a hearing on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Geithner was mainly preaching to the choir: If there's consensus on anything in America these days, it's that "something" must be done about Fannie and Freddie, which have received nearly $160 billion in government aid since 2008

Mar. 1, 2011 - Why Koch Industries Is Speaking Out - Wall Street Journal

Years of tremendous overspending by federal, state and local governments have brought us face-to-face with an economic crisis. Federal spending will total at least $3.8 trillion this year—double what it was 10 years ago. And unlike in 2001, when there was a small federal surplus, this year's projected budget deficit is more than $1.6 trillion.

Several trillions more in debt have been accumulated by state and local governments. States are looking at a combined total of more than $130 billion in budget shortfalls this year. Next year, they will be in even worse shape as most so-called stimulus payments end.

Jan. 27, 2011 -In Panel’s Report, Stern Warning on Repeating Financial Crisis - The New York Times/nyt_headline>>/>

The blow-by-blow chronicle of regulatory negligence and Wall Street recklessness released Thursday by a Congressional commission amounts to a scathing warning to the government about ways to prevent a recurrence of the 2008 financial crisis.

Jan. 6 2011 - December increase seals strong holiday for retail -  Yahoo Finance

NEW YORK (AP) -- The holiday shopping season was the best since 2006, as a strong November more than offset spending that tapered off in late December.

The strength of holiday sales from Oct. 31 through Jan. 1 suggests a recovery in consumer spending. For investors, whose expectations were riding high after a stronger-than-expected November, the December figures were disappointing. That hurt retail stocks Thursday

Jan. 4, 2011 - Wall Street Preparing $4 Billion of Commerical - Mortgage Bonds -  Bloomberg 

Deutsche Bank AG, UBS AG and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are preparing the year’s first bond sales tied to commercial property loans, according to people familiar with the transactions.

Deutsche Bank and UBS are teaming up to issue as much as $2.5 billion in commercial mortgage-backed securities linked to loans on office buildings, shopping malls and hotels in what would be the largest offering of its kind since the market froze in June 2008, according to a person familiar with the deal. JPMorgan plans to sell $1.5 billion in similar debt, a person familiar with that sale said.

Dec. 15, 2010 - FDIC Raises $1B In RE Debt Sale - Bloomberg

 The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plans to sell almost $1 billion of securities tied to residential and commercial real-estate debt once held by failed banks, according to a person familiar with the transaction.

Nov. 23, 2010 - Fed lowers outlook for economy through 2011 -  Yahoo Finance

WASHINGTON – Federal Reserve officials have become more pessimistic in their economic outlook through next year and have lowered their forecast for growth.

 The economy will grow only 2.4 percent to 2.5 percent this year, Fedofficials said Tuesday in an updated forecast. That's down sharply from a previous projection of 3 percent to 3.5 percent. Next year, the economy will expand by 3 percent to 3.6 percent, the Fed said, also much lower than it s June forecast.

Nov. 22, 2010 - Lack of Hiring to Restrain U.S. Economy in 2011, Survey Shows - Bloomberg 

 The economy in the U.S. will fail to strengthen in 2011 as companies limit hiring and consumers curb spending, a survey showed.

Gross domestic product will increase 2.6 percent next year after growing 2.7 percent in 2010, according to the median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics from Oct. 21 to Nov. 4.

Nov. 21, 2010 - Michael Dell Shows Why Ben Bernanke is Impotent: William Pesek - Bloomberg 

 Suspicions that the Federal Reserve’s moves won’t save the U.S. are often based on events in Tokyo. Round Rock, Texas, may be a better place to look.

Oct. 5, 2010 - FDIC's Bair wonders about bond bubble caused by longterm ZIRP - Housing Wire

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair has joined the chorus of economists voicing concerns over continued use of the Zero Interest Rate Policy, or ZIRP, for an extended period of time.

Aug. 19, 2009 - WL Ross Names FHFA Director Lockhart as Vice Chairman - Bloomberg

Wilbur Ross names U.S. housing finance regulator James B. Lockhart III as vice chairman of his Invesco Ltd.'s WL Ross & Co.  Lockhart will aid Wilbur Ross in his distressed investment unit.

Jul. 23, 2009 -Accountants Gain Courage to Stand Up to Bankers: Jonathan Weil - Bloomberg 

After caving to Congressional pressure to ease mark-to-market accounting rules in April, FASB is now considering expanding the use of fair-market values on corporate income statements and balance sheets.

Jul. 22, 2009 - Bernanke Says Commercial Property May Pose Risk for Economy – Bloomberg

An upcoming wave of commercial real estate defaults may pose some difficulties for the economy as a whole.

Jun. 17, 2009 - Obama Lays Out 'Sweeping Overhaul' of Financial Rules – Bloomberg

Obama proposes the most ambitious overhaul of the U.S. financial regulatory system in 75 years.  The plan will add an additional layer of regulation to the biggest financial firms, add an agency to monitor consumer financial products, and bring hedge funds and private equity funds under federal scrutiny.  The proposal is subject to approval by Congress and is likely the beginning of a large political battle.