Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Wednesday May 9 Housing and Economic stories



TOP STORIES:

Debtors seethe, sue over collector tactics - (www.sacbee.com) Kristy Schwarm was introduced to collection agencies after she bounced an $83.41 check at a Mendocino County FoodMaxx. She soon started receiving menacing letters on district attorney and sheriff's department letterhead, warning her she was under criminal investigation and threatening her with arrest. In rural Fresno County, an 18-year-old student living with her parents became anxious and depressed and eventually dropped out of school after a Hanford-based collector kept calling at home and at work about a delinquent $3,509.18 hospital bill. "Her voice is stuck in my head, and it's ugly, ugly," said Margarita Guzman of Parlier, a town of about 13,000 southeast of Fresno. "She made me feel like I was this bad person and couldn't be responsible.

Short sales expected to flood the market - (money.cnn.com) Short sales are rising sharply, offering many struggling homeowners a better alternative to foreclosure in many of the nation's hardest hit states. In short sale deals, the sale price of the home is less than what the seller owes. Often, the bank that holds the mortgage takes so long to approve the sale that the deal falls through. But in recent months, the pace of short sales has increased, a trend that should gain momentum, according to RealtyTrac. In January, short sales rose 33% compared with 12 months earlier, the company reported. During the month, 32 states saw year-over-year percentage increases in short sales. Even more encouraging, short sale deals outnumbered foreclosures in 12 states, including some of the hardest hit like California, Arizona and Florida.

Italy Consumer Confidence Plunges to Record Low in April - (www.bloomberg.com) Italian consumer confidence plunged to the lowest in more than 15 years in April as Prime Minister Mario Monti’s austerity drive deepens the recession in Europe’s fourth-biggest economy. The confidence index declined to 89, the lowest since the series began in 1996, from a revised 96.3 in March, national statistics office Istat said in Rome today. Economists forecast a reading of 96.2, according to the median of 12 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey.

Behind a Chinese City's Growth, Heavy Debt - (online.wsj.com) The Chinese city of Chongqing accumulated tens of billions of dollars in liabilities during Bo Xilai's term as local Communist Party chief, as it juiced growth that helped launch the former high-flyer's campaign for a top political post. A Wall Street Journal analysis of Chinese rating-company reports shows that 10 major investment vehicles the city used to fuel its growth accumulated more than 346 billion yuan ($54 billion) in liabilities, as it recapitalized banks and built highways, bridges and other projects that boosted growth and helped attract global companies looking for an entry into China's booming inland markets. 

MF Customers Press J.P. Morgan for Funds - (online.wsj.com) Customers of MF Global Holdings Ltd. are pushing regulators to get tougher on J.P. Morgan Chase JPM -1.16%& Co. about money that went missing from accounts just before the firm’s collapse. The move comes as a bankruptcy trustee representing brokerage customers of MF Global has said he is conducting an investigation of J.P. Morgan and had entered “substantive discussions regarding the resolution of claims” against the Wall Street firm.






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