KeNo's Housing and Economic Portal: Friday August 19 Housing and Economic stories

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Friday August 19 Housing and Economic stories

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NY seeks to intervene in BoA $8.5 billion pact - (www.reuters.com) New York's attorney general will oppose Bank of America Corp's $8.5 billion settlement over repurchasing toxic mortgage loans, joining a growing number of unhappy mortgage bond buyers now fighting the pact reached with some of the largest institutional investors in the country. In court papers filed late Thursday, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman sought to intervene in order to "protect the marketplace and the interests of New York investors, the vast majority of whom otherwise are not present before the Court in this proceeding." The filing comes a day before a scheduled court hearing in the case that's expected to address when parties opposing the deal can seek discovery. In late June, BofA settled an eight-month dispute with outside investors who bought Countrywide Financial Corp mortgage bonds. The investors -- including Pacific Investment Management Co, or PIMCO, and BlackRock Inc -- requested the bank repurchase toxic home loans that comprised a series of mortgage-backed securities.

EU Struggles to Tame Crisis Amid Contagion - (www.bloomberg.com) European leaders hunted for solutions to the debt crisis, helping Italyand Spain gain a respite from the market turbulence after the resumption of the European Central Bank’s bond-buying program. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy plan to speak by phone later today, their offices said. The European Commission called for an expansion of the European Financial Stability Facility, the 440 billion-euro ($623 billion) rescue fund, earning a rebuke from Germany. “It’s important to constantly review if there is a need to further reinforce the EFSF in terms of its size,” European Union Economic and Monetary Commissioner Olli Rehn said in a Bloomberg Television interview in Brussels. German Economy Minister Philipp Roesler rejected taking more measures. Europe’s government leaders were back in the spotlight after a divided ECB restarted its bond-purchase program yesterday following a four-month hiatus. The central bank refused to extend the purchases to Italy and Spain, the two countries at the center of the current turmoil.

Leaders prepare turmoil response - (www.ft.com) Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s centre-right prime minister, and Giulio Tremonti, finance minister, held several hours of emergency talks on Friday in which they agreed to speed up a package of measures to liberalise the economy. An official, who asked not to be named, said the measures were expected to be announced at a press conference after the close of markets following a day in which the spread between Italian and German 10-year bonds overtook that of Spain, placing Italy – the eurozone’s third largest economy – at the centre of the sovereign debt crisis. The talks, joined by Gianni Letta, cabinet under-secretary, represented the first significant departure from Mr Berlusconi’s failed efforts to ride the storm by largely blaming external forces and market “speculators” for the sharp increase in Italy’s borrowing costs on its debt mountain equal to 120 per cent of GDP. The government would continue to work on the package through August and parliament could be called back early from its summer recess to pass the necessary legislation, the official said.

There Are So Many Homeless In Virginia Beach Officials Are Pondering Official Tent City - (www.businessinsider.com) With more than a dozen homeless camps and 453 displaced residents, Virginia Beach may be the first community in the state to sanction a homeless "tent-city." According to Hampton Roads, the city shut down an encampment of more than 20 people in March, but following the death of a homeless woman last month they seem to be easing their position. Proponents for the plan say it will allow for easier monitoring and provision of services. "Until we solve the housing and poverty crisis, unfortunately, there will be people living outside," one resident says. "There's no other place to go."