Thursday, January 26, 2012

Friday January 27 Housing and Economic stories

KeNosHousingPortal.blogspot.com

TOP STORIES:

A Nightmare Home Appraisal Story That Shows Why The Housing Market Is Still So Messed Up - (www.businessinsider.com) My senior staff appraiser shared the following nightmare story – about a friend of his who is going through a mortgage refinance with one of the big US national banks regarding a house in Long Island, NY. Rather not say the bank name but a stagecoach comes to mind. An appraisal was ordered through a big appraisal management company – Rels. Their appraiser used a condemned house with a big hole in the side of it – visible from the street – as a comparable sale presented in the report: Attached are the photos of the condemned house used by the appraiser in my friends appraisal…They are still fighting to have a new appraisal done. I will be honest the house was not this bad (when it was sold) as most of the siding has been removed. However, it was bought by a developer/LLC (not a person) and the condemned sign was on the door had the appraiser gotten out of the car. The hole in the side I believe was there as you can see that is the side with some siding still remaining.


MF Global Probe Focuses on Back Office - (online.wsj.com) Investigators on the hunt for an estimated $1.2 billion in customer money missing since MF Global Holdings Ltd. collapsed are zeroing in on the securities firm's back-office operations in Chicago, people familiar with the situation said. One back-office employee has told people she disputes congressional testimony by Jon S. Corzine, MF Global's former chairman and chief executive, that she provided assurance that a $200 million transfer was proper, according to people familiar with the matter.

Overnight deposits at ECB top half a trillion euros - (www.reuters.com) Commercial banks parked over half a trillion euros at the European Central Bank, the highest on record, as the mix of debt crisis worries and a recent giant injection of ECB cash left banks awash with money but too scared to lend it. Overnight deposits at the ECB have been hitting new records even since last month's first ever offering of three-year loans from the ECB pumped 490 billion euros ($620 billion) into the banking system. ECB data on Tuesday showed deposits topped the half a trillion mark for the first time ever, as banks parked a staggering 502 billion euros, up from the 493 billion euros the previous day. It is likely to mark at least a temporary peak in the level of hoarding.

Greeks strike against austerity as EU, IMF visit - (www.reuters.com) But ordinary Greeks, who have been hit hard by tax hikes and spending cuts which were part of a first bailout agreed in 2010, fear more austerity and wage cuts with the second bailout and say they cannot take more belt-tightening. Thousands of angry Greek workers marched to parliament to protest against the lenders' visit, waving banners reading "EU, IMF out!." "We want them to get lost. They are pushing the country towards collapse with these measures. They are selling off Greece," said Yannis Tsalimoglou, a 51-year old dockworker, whose income has taken a 30-percent hit with the crisis. Greece has entered its fifth consecutive year of austerity-fuelled recession, with unemployment reaching a record high of 17.7 percent in the third quarter of 2011.

How Ireland's Richest Man Went From $6 Billion To -$3.5 Billion - (www.businessinsider.com) Sean Quinn, once Ireland’s richest man, was declared bankrupt on Monday, Bloomberg reported. Quinn, whose fortune was valued at around $6 billion (4.7 billion euros) by Forbes magazine in 2008, owes the bank almost 2.9 billion euros ($3.5 billion). Quinn, 64, didn’t contest the bankruptcy petition brought by Irish Bank Resolution Corp. (IBRC), formerly Anglo Irish Bank, the lender at the center of Ireland's property crash. Here's how it happened... Quinn started in construction, and went on to become a real estate magnate. However, his trouble came when he became involved with the Anglo Irish Bank Corp.

OTHER STORIES:

China Home Sales Rise at Slowest Pace in Three Years on Government Curbs - (www.bloomberg.com)

Canada Courts Housing Bubble IMF Sees as Risk With Record Rates: Mortgages - (www.bloomberg.com)

Iceland makes fledgling recovery from its economic meltdown - (www.washingtonpost.com)

China’s Slowest GDP Growth in 2 1/2-Years Boosts Scope for Easing: Economy - (www.bloomberg.com)

Manufacturing in NY Region Expands Faster - (www.bloomberg.com)

Citigroup Profit Falls 11%, Misses Estimates - (www.bloomberg.com)

Morgan Stanley Said to Limit Cash Bonuses, Increase Deferrals - (www.bloomberg.com)

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