Personal Finance News

Regulator says Fannie, Freddie might sell bad assets
Reuters - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may sell some bad assets to the Treasury Department but a decision has not yet been made, the regulator of the two mortgage finance companies said on Sunday. (Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:43:47 GMT)

Mortgage forgiven for woman, 90, who shot herself
AP - Mortgage finance company Fannie Mae said it is forgiving the mortgage debt of a 90-year-old woman who shot herself in the chest as sheriff's deputies attempted to evict her. (Sun, 05 Oct 2008 14:23:04 GMT)

Allianz, others consider buying AIG's Japan units: reports
AFP - Germany's Allianz Group and other major insurers are considering buying American International Group's three life insurance units in Japan, news reports said Saturday. (Sat, 04 Oct 2008 07:52:04 GMT)

AIG to sell Japanese life insurance units
Reuters - American International Group Inc, plans to sell its three Japanese life insurance businesses, an AIG spokesman said on Saturday, in sale Japanese media estimated could top $9.5 billion. (Sat, 04 Oct 2008 06:14:39 GMT)

2 firms selected for mortgage securities program
AP - The Treasury Department has picked two financial institutions to manage a program it unveiled last month to provide support for beleaguered mortgage-backed securities. (Fri, 03 Oct 2008 21:57:03 GMT)

AIG to focus on property, casualty insurance
Reuters - American International Group Inc , the insurer crippled by losses on bad mortgage bets, said on Friday it will focus on its property, casualty and foreign general insurance businesses. (Fri, 03 Oct 2008 12:30:15 GMT)

Toyota announces zero-percent financing
AP - Toyota Motor Corp. has announced zero-percent financing on 11 models as it tries to woo would-be buyers sidelined by the consumer credit crunch. (Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:59:42 GMT)

30-year mortgages rise to 6.10 percent
AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages have risen for a second straight week, climbing to the highest level in a month. (Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:18:24 GMT)

UBS predicts battered profits to recover
AFP - Switzerland's biggest bank UBS on Thursday said it would swing into profit in the third quarter, recovering from successive quarters of losses when it was forced to write down billions in bad assets. (Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:03:17 GMT)

Once 3 pages, bailout bill now length of novel
AP - Two Saturdays ago, it totaled just three pages — the White House's request for $700 billion to rescue tottering financial institutions by buying their devalued mortgage-related assets. (Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:44:56 GMT)

Banks want to suspend accounting rule in bailout
AP - Congress has embraced an idea to help prop up the financial system: Give banks a break by letting them value their bad mortgage assets at a price they could fetch later, not now. (Wed, 01 Oct 2008 22:13:54 GMT)

Gov't launches mortgage aid program
AP - The government kicked off a program Wednesday that aims to prevent foreclosures by letting an estimated 400,000 troubled homeowners swap their mortgages for more affordable loans. (Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:26:07 GMT)

Barclays gets most Fannie, Freddie, FHLB business
Reuters - Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of Barclays Plc , retained its spot as top underwriter in the $3 trillion federal agency debt markets in 2008 year-to-date from a year earlier, according to Thomson Reuters. (Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:55:39 GMT)

Fannie, Freddie disclose subpoenas, investigations
AP - Adding to their woes, mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are facing a federal grand jury investigation into their accounting practices. (Tue, 30 Sep 2008 09:33:25 GMT)

Lawmakers reject bailout as markets swoon
Reuters - U.S. lawmakers rejected a $700 billion bailout plan for the financial industry in a shock vote that sent global markets sliding as the world credit crisis claimed more banks. (Mon, 29 Sep 2008 18:26:28 GMT)

Stocks plunge on bank woes after Wachovia
Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Monday as investors worried about the stability of the banking sector after Wachovia Corp became the latest major U.S. bank to succumb to fallout from the credit crisis. (Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:22:59 GMT)

Fannie, Freddie disclose subpoenas, investigations
AP - A federal grand jury is investigating accounting and disclosure issues at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance companies said Monday. (Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:20:58 GMT)

Fannie, Freddie get federal grand jury subpoenas
Reuters - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the U.S. mortgage finance giants that were taken over by the government this month, said on Monday they were subpoenaed for documents as part of a federal grand jury investigations into their accounting. (Mon, 29 Sep 2008 14:15:10 GMT)

UK government nationalizes Bradford & Bingley
AP - The British government is nationalizing troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, the Treasury confirmed Monday, taking over the bank's 50 billion pound ($91 billion) mortgage and loan books as turmoil from the U.S. credit crisis spread across Europe. (Mon, 29 Sep 2008 12:02:37 GMT)

Wachovia bank in talks to be bought: sources
Reuters - Wachovia Corp is in talks with rivals to be taken over, sources familiar with the situation said on Sunday, after the U.S. bank's shares fell 27 percent on Friday due to concerns about its portfolio of illiquid mortgage assets. (Mon, 29 Sep 2008 11:25:42 GMT)

Sold to US taxpayers for $700B: banks' bad assets
AP - Sold to American taxpayers for up to $700 billion: an unprecedented plan to buy distressed banks' least desirable mortgage assets. (Mon, 29 Sep 2008 04:04:49 GMT)

German mortgage bank near bankruptcy: report
AFP - Germany's Hypo Real Estate, a mortgage bank, is on the brink of bankruptcy, the daily Financial Times Deutschland reported in an advance copy of its Monday edition. (Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:31:39 GMT)

UK set to nationalize B&B bank, may sell savings
Reuters - Britain's government will nationalize troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley and is discussing the sale of its savings book and branches, people in the banking industry familiar with the matter said. (Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:53:26 GMT)

Bush confident rescue plan will pass very soon
AP - President Bush says he's confident that Congress will pass a financial bailout bill very soon. (Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:21:22 GMT)

Bradford & Bingley may be nationalised: reports
AFP - British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, which has been hit by a housing downturn and weakness in the wider economy, may be nationalised, according to newspaper reports. (Sat, 27 Sep 2008 08:19:33 GMT)

Bailout bill, once 3 pages, swells in length
AP - A week ago, it totaled just three pages — the White House's request for $700 billion to rescue tottering financial institutions by buying their devalued mortgage-related assets. (Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:15:33 GMT)

Wachovia, National City tumble on bailout, WaMu
Reuters - Wachovia Corp and National City Corp shares tumbled as talks on a $700 billion government bailout of the financial sector stalled and regulators seized Washington Mutual Inc . (Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:54:45 GMT)

Australian government to invest billions in mortgage market
AFP - The Australian government announced Friday it would invest four billion dollars (3.32 billion US dollars) in the mortgage market in response to the global credit crunch. (Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:00:11 GMT)

US-BUSINESS Summary
Reuters - Pressure mounted on lawmakers Friday to agree on a $700 billion financial rescue plan after talks at the White House broke down in acrimony and the biggest bank closure in U.S. history roiled global markets. President George W. Bush said that while there were disagreements on parts of the bailout plan, legislation would be passed by Congress. "We are going to get a package passed," he said in a brief appearance at the White House. (Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:21:25 GMT)

WaMu becomes biggest bank to fail in US history
AP - As the debate over a $700 billion bank bailout rages on in Washington, one of the nation's largest banks — Washington Mutual Inc. — has collapsed under the weight of its enormous bad bets on the mortgage market. (Fri, 26 Sep 2008 13:03:28 GMT)

JPMorgan to buy WaMu deposits, branches
AP - JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc. acquired the assets of Washington Mutual Inc.'s banking operations Thursday after federal regulators seized the ailing thrift, the country's largest. (Fri, 26 Sep 2008 01:39:07 GMT)

Conservative Republicans offer bailout alternative
Reuters - A group of conservative Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives offered a mortgage insurance plan on Thursday as an alternative to the Bush administration's $700-billion Wall Street bailout. (Thu, 25 Sep 2008 23:33:11 GMT)

GSE nationalization was unavoidable: regulator
Reuters - The chief regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac said on Thursday he had no option but to seize control of the two mortgage finance companies in early September because they had grown so unstable. (Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:19:00 GMT)

Asset-backed bond markets finely poised
FT.com - The Merrill Lynch executives who took the decision to sell off a bunch of complex mortgage-related debt assets at about 22 cents in the dollar during the summer could have good reason to feel peeved once the US market bail-out plan is finalised. (Thu, 25 Sep 2008 21:05:22 GMT)

30-year mortgages jump after 5 weeks of declines
AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had been falling for five weeks, jumped sharply this week, reflecting the turbulence in global credit markets. (Thu, 25 Sep 2008 19:16:24 GMT)

US-BUSINESS Summary
Reuters - Sales of new U.S. single-family homes in August fell to its lowest point in more than 17 years while prices hit four-year lows, a government report on Thursday showed, in a sign of continued weakness in the housing sector. The annual sales pace was down 11.5 percent from July to 460,000 homes and was sharply off the 510,000 pace expected by economists. The August decline was the biggest since November 2007. (Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:24:07 GMT)

Regulators try to broker WaMu deal: reports
Reuters - U.S. regulators are trying to quickly broker a deal for Washington Mutual Inc , a large U.S. savings and loan crippled by mortgage losses, the New York Times reported on Thursday. (Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:12:40 GMT)

WaMu touts for private equity takeover: report
Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc , the large U.S. savings and loan company crippled by mortgage losses, has approached private equity firms about a potential takeover after listed firms showed reluctance, the Wall Street Journal. (Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:56:18 GMT)

FBI said to probe Fannie, Freddie, Lehman, AIG
Reuters - The FBI is investigating Fannie Mae , Freddie Mac , Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and insurer American International Group Inc , expanding its probe of potential corporate fraud, law enforcement officials said on Wednesday. (Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:58:45 GMT)

US-BUSINESS Summary
Reuters - Billionaire Warren Buffett bet on a Wall Street revival by buying a $5 billion stake in Goldman Sachs, and a Japanese bank looked ready to follow suit, but markets were on edge as political wrangling over a financial rescue plan enters a second day. "I am to some effect betting on the fact that the government will do the rational thing and act properly," Buffett, one of the world's richest men and preeminent stock-pickers, told CNBC. (Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:15:54 GMT)

Oil rises above $108 as investors eye US bailout
AP - Oil prices rose above $108 a barrel Wednesday as investors waited for details of a proposed $700 billion plan to buy bad mortgage debt and stabilize the U.S. financial system. (Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:29:51 GMT)

Mortgage applications fell in latest week
Reuters - Applications for U.S. home mortgages retreated to sluggish levels last week as rising interest rates spoiled a spurt in loan refinancing, according to data published from an industry group on Wednesday. (Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:03:23 GMT)

Congress balks at huge US financial bailout
AFP - US lawmakers were digging their heels in Wednesday against the government's 700-billion-dollar financial rescue package, setting the scene for a fierce showdown on Capitol Hill watched anxiously by markets around the globe. (Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:54:10 GMT)

FBI probes finance giants for fraud: report
AFP - The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing allegations of fraud by 26 Wall Street firms including several investment giants whose collapse sent world markets into turmoil, US media said Tuesday. (Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:42:10 GMT)

FBI probing Fannie, Freddie, Lehman, AIG: report
Reuters - The FBI is investigating Fannie Mae , Freddie Mac , Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and insurer American International Group Inc. and their senior executives for potential mortgage fraud, CNN reported on Tuesday. (Wed, 24 Sep 2008 00:39:14 GMT)

Homeowner advocacy groups weigh in on bailout
AP - Homeowner advocates weighed in Tuesday on the Wall Street bailout bill, pressing Congress to include bankruptcy court relief for people unable to keep up with their mortgage payments. (Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:18:09 GMT)

Get Married to Your Mortgage
The Motley Fool - Although "till death do us part" is a solemn vow we take in marriage, expecting we'll live happily ever after with our betrothed, we ought to be adding that to our mortgage contracts too. (Tue, 23 Sep 2008 20:00:33 GMT)

Resentment grows over Wall Street bailout plan
Reuters - Resentment is growing on both sides of the U.S. political divide over a plan to use $700 billion of taxpayer money to bail out Wall Street firms with bad mortgage debt. (Tue, 23 Sep 2008 18:45:07 GMT)

Dodd: 'No second act' to fixing financial mess
AP - The Bush administration urgently pressed Congress in public and private Tuesday to move quickly on a $700 billion bailout of the financial industry as Democratic and Republican lawmakers attacked Wall Street over a crisis that pushed the nation's economy to the brink. (Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:24:13 GMT)

Oil prices fall on profit-taking after huge rally
AP - Oil prices swung lower Tuesday, falling below $109 a barrel as traders cashed in profits a day after crude rocketed to its biggest one-day gain ever — an epic rally apparently triggered in part by a technical fluke. (Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:01:16 GMT)

GSE oversight powers came too late: regulator
Reuters - The U.S. Congress gave a new regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac stronger oversight powers too late to help steer the companies away from a government takeover, the chief regulator for the mortgage finance companies said on Tuesday. (Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:47:47 GMT)

Bernanke says global markets under "extraordinary stress"
Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told the U.S. Congress Tuesday that financial markets are under severe stress and urged immediate action to buy up hundreds of billions of dollars worth of tainted mortgage assets. (Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:21:50 GMT)

Dollar rises before govt testimonies on US bailout plan
AFP - The dollar rose against the euro and yen on Tuesday as traders awaited more details on a US government plan to buy mortgage-related assets at the root of a global financial crisis, dealers said. (Tue, 23 Sep 2008 11:05:19 GMT)

Sen. Clinton: Gov't should help buy back home loans
Reuters - New York Senator Hillary Clinton said the federal government should establish a special entity that would buy mortgages from Americans and later sell them just as it did during the Great Depression. (Mon, 22 Sep 2008 20:12:16 GMT)

Stocks fall as investors await bank bailout plan
AP - Wall Street fell in early trading Monday as investors nervously awaited further news about the government's plan to buy $700 billion in banks' mortgage debt. The Dow Jones industrials were down more than 150 points while the credit markets remained nervous, but not showing the signs of panic that Treasury trading saw last week. (Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:28:47 GMT)

Bush, Congress exchange views on relief bill
AP - President Bush and leading Democrats differed Monday on just how quickly Congress should pass legislation stabilizing the country's troubled financial system. (Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:11:27 GMT)

Oil nears $107 as investors weigh US bank bailout
AP - Oil prices rose Monday as investors grappled with the possible impact on crude demand of a $700 billion U.S. proposal to buy bad mortgage debt. (Mon, 22 Sep 2008 13:31:46 GMT)

Buy, Sell, or Stay Put? Advice from the Pros
BusinessWeek Online - If you're feeling pummeled by market mayhem, you're not alone. With Lehman Brothers (leh.) filing for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch selling out, and AIG getting a government bailout, investors have been knocked for a loop. Financial advisers have been fielding phone calls from panicked clients, but the smarter ones called their clients first to put things in perspective. "My issue with my clients is: Are they getting to a place where they cannot sleep?" says David Diesslin, a financial planner in Fort Worth. ... (Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:08:41 GMT)

World stocks mixed on proposed US bailout
AP - Global markets were mixed Monday as investors awaited more developments in the U.S. government's $700 billion plan to rescue banks from risky mortgage debt. (Mon, 22 Sep 2008 11:45:28 GMT)

Editorial reaction to $700B bailout plan
AP - Here is what some newspapers had to say about the Bush administration's move to ask Congress for $700 billion to buy up troubled mortgage-related assets from U.S. financial institutions: (Sun, 21 Sep 2008 21:49:18 GMT)

Frank would cap executive pay in financial rescue
Reuters - Rep. Barney Frank on Sunday proposed including executive pay limits and foreclosure mitigation efforts in the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial bailout plan aimed at absorbing bad mortgage assets that have paralyzed the U.S. financial system. (Sun, 21 Sep 2008 18:45:19 GMT)

Regulator wants buyer for Bradford & Bingley: report
AFP - Britain's Financial Services Authority (FSA) is in secret negotiations to facilitate the acquisition of mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, the Sunday Telegraph reported. (Sun, 21 Sep 2008 11:46:55 GMT)

Congress examines $700 billion market bailout plan
Reuters - The Bush administration asked Congress on Saturday for $700 billion to bail out firms burdened with bad mortgage debt, seeking extraordinary authority as it tackles the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. (Sun, 21 Sep 2008 02:43:44 GMT)

Details of $700 billion financial rescue proposal
AP - The Bush administration is asking Congress for $700 billion to buy up troubled mortgage-related assets from U.S. financial institutions. According to a draft obtained Saturday by The Associated Press, the proposal would: (Sat, 20 Sep 2008 16:26:40 GMT)

U.S. readies massive toxic-debt plan
Reuters - The U.S. government is preparing to mop up hundreds of billions of dollars in bad mortgage debt, after curbing short-selling and guaranteeing mutual funds in an effort to stabilize financial markets. (Sat, 20 Sep 2008 12:01:56 GMT)

4 Fannie execs depart; organization restructured
AP - Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae, taken over by the government earlier this month, announced Friday the resignations of four senior executives and said it was restructuring its organization. (Sat, 20 Sep 2008 10:03:12 GMT)

U.S. launches all-out attack on credit crisis
Reuters - The United States surged into action on Friday to launch an all-out attack against the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, readying a plan to tap hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to buy up toxic mortgage-related debt. (Sat, 20 Sep 2008 04:26:26 GMT)

U.S. to propose $500-$800 billion asset-buy plan: sources
Reuters - The U.S. Treasury will propose a $500 billion to $800 billion government program to take toxic mortgage-related assets off the books of U.S. financial firms, banking industry sources said on Friday. (Sat, 20 Sep 2008 03:01:44 GMT)

Treasury could buy debt for 2 years under plan: report
Reuters - The U.S. Treasury would have authority to buy whole loans, collateralized debt obligations and mortgage-backed securities under an evolving financial market rescue plan, CNBC reported on Friday, citing an unnamed Treasury official. (Fri, 19 Sep 2008 22:08:01 GMT)

U.S. launches all-out attack on credit crisis
Reuters - The United States surged into action on Friday to launch an all-out attack against the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, readying a plan to tap hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer funds to buy up toxic mortgage-related debt. (Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:51:35 GMT)

Government steps to head off run on money funds
AP - The federal government on Friday stepped in to bolster the teetering $3 trillion money-market mutual fund industry and stem a wave of withdrawals that resembled a Depression-era run on the banks — sparked largely by panicked institutional clients rather than individual investors in what are normally considered to be the safest of investments. (Fri, 19 Sep 2008 21:11:40 GMT)

Treasury to double MBS purchases to $10 billion
Reuters - The U.S. Treasury intends to double its planned purchases of mortgage-backed securities to $10 billion this month as part of its broad plan to stabilize markets and deal with problem bank assets. (Fri, 19 Sep 2008 19:30:38 GMT)

Paulson urges Congress action on mortgage debt plan
Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, leading a push for a taxpayer-funded plan to contain the credit market crisis, said on Friday he would ask Congress to take action on this next week and that the Treasury was taking immediate steps in the meantime. (Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:18:51 GMT)

Paulson: Fannie, Freddie to buy more mortgages
AP - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will step up their purchases of mortgage-backed securities to help provide support to the crippled housing market. (Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:15:59 GMT)

Toxic-debt plan, short-selling curbs lift markets
Reuters - The U.S. government pledged $50 billion to guarantee money-market mutual funds, curbed short-selling and crafted a sweeping plan to mop up toxic mortgage debt, sending global stock markets soaring. (Fri, 19 Sep 2008 14:11:48 GMT)