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Got a Lehman signing bonus? Probably not for long

AUSTIN KILGORE — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:48:31 +0000

If it wasn’t bad enough that the 2008 class of associates at Lehman Brothers worked a mere six weeks before the financial services firm collapsed, a year later, many of those same employees may be on the hook for repaying their $40,000 signing bonuses. According to a report on a British financial employment Web site, a [...]

ACORN Fights Funding Ban with Lawsuit

AUSTIN KILGORE — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:20:48 +0000

Embattled community group ACORN is fighting a Congressional move to block the organization from receiving federal funding with a lawsuit filed in US District Court against the United States. The Center for Constitutional Rights filed the suit on behalf of ACORN — the Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now — and two of its affiliate [...]

Half Out of Work in Small Illinois Town

JON PRIOR — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:56:44 +0000

Housingwire recently reported that the unemployment rate crossed the 10% barrier, and readers pointed out that the figure wasn’t high enough by some measurements. In most reports unemployment statistics come from the U-3 numbers calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Often missing from these reports is the U-6 unemployment curve, which measures the amount of [...]

New S&P Slogan Contest

DIANA GOLOBAY — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:32:35 +0000

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services slashed some 26,300+ mortgage-related securities bonds in Q309. Bloomberg has the scoop on the downgrades in a posting today. It marks a record quarter of mortgage bond downgrades for the credit-rating agency — an achievement not lost on industry players, one of whom thinks that a contest for a slogan for [...]

Dude, where’s my liquidity?

DIANA GOLOBAY — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:12:00 +0000

PennyMac Mortgage Investment Trust is planning to buy up newly issued loans and package them into bonds. A posting at Bloomberg has the scoop today. The conduit arm of PennyMac would buy the mortgage loans as short-term investments. It sounds promising in terms of short-term funding, but the question remains whether this conduit vehicle will last: Has [...]

No HAMP For You! NYC Homeowners Sue Over Mods

JON PRIOR — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 23:04:22 +0000

Four homeowners from Queens and Brooklyn filed a federal class action lawsuit against Aurora Loan Services - a subsidiary of Lehman Brothers - for allegedly not considering their loans for modification under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Under HAMP, the US Treasury allocates capped incentives to participating servicers for the modification of loans on the [...]

More Lessons From Bernie

DIANA GOLOBAY — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:47:24 +0000

Bernie Madoff’s accountant pleaded guilty today regarding his involvement in the multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme. Bloomberg has the scoop on the guilty plea from David Friehling, who indicated he failed to execute the required independent investigation into Bernard Madoff Investment Securities. HousingWire magazine reviews an account of the Madoff debacle, Too Good to be True: the [...]

Push for Fire Sprinklers in New Homes Douses Opposition

AUSTIN KILGORE — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:48:51 +0000

[Update 1: Clarifies NAHB's position] The International Code Council’s (IRC) recent decision to mandate the installment of fire sprinklers in new homes will go forward, despite protest and opposition from the National Association of Home Builders. The council is responsible for publishing the International Residential Code, and last year, updated the residential building code to require fire [...]

Lend America Mortgage Fraud, 20 Years in the Making?

AUSTIN KILGORE — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 23:00:41 +0000

The civil lawsuit filed against Lend America parent company Ideal Mortgage Bankers takes aim at 40 Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgages the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Justice Department claim were fraudulently approved by the New York-based lender. But HousingWire’s review of the 155-page suit reveals allegations of a pattern of mortgage [...]

Luxury Auction Seeks ‘Absolute’ Market Value

DIANA GOLOBAY — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 21:35:10 +0000

A five-bedroom, seven-bath luxury estate 25 minutes from Manhattan is set to hit the auction block on November 17 — with no minimum bid required. This set-up, called an “absolute” auction, is meant to set the market value determined by a competitive bidding process. It eliminates minimum bids and reserves, meaning in theory the market could [...]