TOP STORIES:
Calpers
concerned about Richmond, California's mortgage plan - (www.reuters.com) As Richmond, California, moves forward with a
plan to help struggling homeowners by using its power of eminent domain to
seize underwater mortgages, the list of those concerned about it is growing -
and now includes the pension fund for many of the very same city workers
pushing the plan. The $268 billion California Public Employees' Retirement
System, the nation's largest public pension fund, joins banks and other investors in worrying
that Richmond's plan will undermine the value of its holdings. Calpers holds
about $11 billion in income-producing mortgage-backed securities, though it
calculates it has just $27,000 in exposure to mortgages targeted by Richmond. "We
are sympathetic to homeowners but as fiduciaries our focus must be in the best
interests of our members," Calpers spokesman Joe DeAnda told Reuters in
the fund's first public statement on Richmond's plan. "We are watching the
issue closely and have some concerns about the precedent this may set and the
impact to investors." Meanwhile, the Service Employees International
Union, which represents 452 of Richmond's roughly 900 employees, most of whom
are members of Calpers, is a full-throated backer of the first-of-its-kind
eminent domain plan.
Landlord
Uncle Sam wants to sell foreclosures - (www.nbcnews.com)
For sale or rent by
distressed owner: 248,000 homes. That’s how many residential properties the
U.S. government now has in its possession, the result of record numbers of
people defaulting on government-backed mortgages. Washington is sitting on
nearly a third of the nation’s 800,000 repossessed houses, making the U.S.
taxpayer the largest owner of foreclosed properties. With even more homes moving
toward default, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Housing Administration
are looking for a way to unload them without swamping the already depressed
real estate market. Since the 2008
financial collapse, the government has spent billions of dollars trying to
extricate borrowers from high-cost loans, aid delinquent homeowners and
stabilize neighborhoods. The results have been disappointing. The Obama
Administration's signature loan-modification program has helped about 657,000
homeowners -- far short of its goal of 3 to 4 million. The program was a victim
of its complexity and its inability to cope with overwhelming demand. Many
families hit hardest by the housing downturn are concentrated in states that
are having the most difficulty recovering from the recession, including
Florida, Ohio and Nevada.The government's call for ideas is a sign it is
deluged with repossessions, commonly known as real-estate-owned properties or
REO. "It's almost like having the captain of the Titanic go on the public
address system and say, `Does anybody have an idea?'" says Mark Wiseman, a
former director of Cleveland's foreclosure-prevention program. "It's not a
confidence builder.
Wells
Fargo Judge Tosses Some U.S. Fraud Claims as Too Late - (www.businessweek.com) Wells Fargo & Co. persuaded a U.S.
judge to dismiss some claims against it in a lawsuit by the federal government
accusing the lender of home mortgage fraud because they were filed too late. The
U.S. sued the San Francisco-based bank last year, alleging it made reckless loans
that caused losses for a federal insurance program when borrowers defaulted and
seeking hundreds of millions of dollars in damages. U.S. District Judge Jesse
M. Furman in New York today ruled that while the federal government’s statutory
claims against the lender could stand, any legal injury claims based on events
that transpired before June 2009 were too late to be actionable. He also threw
out mistake-of-fact and unjust enrichment claims. “Those arising before 2004
are untimely and those arising after are barred because the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development was aware of Wells Fargo’s
misconduct at the time,” Furman wrote.
Greece
is starting to look like Weimar Germany - (www.telegraph.co.uk) Economic woes have led to the rise of Golden
Dawn and provoked a crisis of democracy. Economic collapse, mass joblessness,
uniformed paramilitaries, street violence, political assassinations and, now, a
round-up of opposition MPs. Euro-wracked Greece is beginning to feel eerily
like Weimar Germany. The beleaguered Athens government has arrested five
deputies and 15 other activists from the fascist party Golden Dawn, including
the leader, Nikolaos Michaloliakos. The Greek constitution prohibits the
outright banning of political parties, but the authorities have got around that
by classing Golden Dawn as a criminal organisation and linking it to the murder
11 days ago of a Leftist musician. We use the word “fascist” so loosely
these days that it has almost lost its meaning. If you oppose immigration,
you’re called a fascist. If you criticise the EU, you’re called a fascist. If
you’re winning an argument with a Leftie online then, sooner or later, you’re
called a fascist.
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