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Broker who touted subprime mortgages kills himself - (www.miamiherald.com) Cliff Popper was in the midst of a federal fraud trial, accused of defrauding investors across the country of more than $100 million. For years Cliff Popper, financial wheeler dealer, pleaded in his defense that he was being made a scapegoat for the nation’s sub-prime loan crisis by ambitious regulators who failed at their jobs to police the volatile industry. The charismatic South Florida trader, who rode the crest of the housing boom by popularizing risky investments in mortgage pools, defended himself at his federal civil fraud trial in November in West Palm Beach. But before the judge could give his decision, Popper killed himself this week, his body found on Tuesday in his oceanfront condo in Highland Beach. The death of the flashy broker who symbolized the nation’s mortgage craze is the latest chapter in the government’s case against him and others accused of wiping out the finances of people in investments that defined the country's economic crisis: speculative mortgage-backed securities.
Stop working, stop paying the mortgage. It's OK with Freddie Mac! - (www.chicagotribune.com) Freddie Mac announced Friday that it was giving mortgage servicers the authority to offer up to 1 year of mortgage forbearance to unemployed homeowners who have Freddie Mac-backed mortgages. The change, with takes effect Feb. 1, means loan servicers can offer six months of forbearance to jobless borrowers without Freddie's approval and another six months with approval. Currently, servicers can grant up to three months of no mortgage payments without prior agency approval, or six months of reduced payments with approval . Fannie Mae is expected next week to announce guidelines that will align with the new ones at Freddie Mac. The expansions are the result of a directive from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Calif. county's new deed fraud notification program catches suspect - (www.contracostatimes.com) Not so long ago, the news might have been worse for an elderly Clayton couple whose son is accused of trying to pilfer their $300,000 home. Just a few months ago, Contra Costa County prosecutors say they might never have discovered that the son, Walter Roberts, apparently tried to forge deed documents -- much less prevented the alleged crime. Instead, they say, Roberts is sitting in jail, and his parents still have the title to their home because of a new fraud notification program in Contra Costa County. The program -- the first of its kind in Northern California -- went into effect in November and sends automated letters to homeowners whenever the title of their property shifts from one taxpayer to another. Roberts, 63, of Clayton, was arrested Dec. 16 on suspicion of forging his parents' signatures on a grant deed filed at the county Recorder's Office two weeks earlier. One of Roberts' five siblings saw the notification letter from the Recorder's Office and contacted the county, sparking an investigation. Roberts, an unemployed real estate agent who lived with his parents, remains in County Jail in Richmond on $280,000 bail. He also is charged with forging his father's signature on a $28,644 check and financial elder abuse. A preliminary hearing on the charges has been scheduled for Monday.
Retirement Fund Fees Squeezed By Disclosure Rules - (www.bloomberg.com) When Marc Spirn took a close look at retirement-plan costs at his Philadelphia-based medical office, they were so high he helped the business change 401(k) providers and save about $30,000 a year. “All of the partners in our practice were surprised with how much we were spending in revenue-sharing fees,” said Spirn, a physician who’s a retina specialist at Mid Atlantic Retina. “It wasn’t broken down well.” U.S. Department of Labor rules requiring detailed disclosure of 401(k) expenses and revenue sharing are scheduled to take effect this year, making it easier for companies and their employees to see what they’re being charged. They may spur small employers (SBOIHIRE) and their workers, who generally pay higher fees for their plans than larger companies, to shop for better deals, and put pressure on providers such as mutual-fund firms and insurers to cut costs.
President of U. California system gets higher pay than Presdent Obama - (www.ocregister.com) Over the past few months, the University of California has raised undergraduate tuition by 18 percent, awarded raises of as much as 23 percent to a dozen high-ranking administrators and announced a possible 81 percent tuition increase over the next three years. Students haven't taken the news well. At campus rallies across the state, thousands of students and their faculty supporters have decried the actions, staging raucous rallies and "Occupy"-style sit-ins that in some cases have ended in clashes with law enforcement. They've also descended en masse on UC regents' meetings, disrupting proceedings and even forcing officials to retreat to a private room. Behind the angry chanting and acts of civil disobedience is a growing sense that the 10-campus UC system is no longer a public institution accessible to the middle class, but rather a sprawling bureaucracy of hospitals and auxiliary research institutions buffeted by an ever-expanding roster of administrators.
Where did all our infrastructure money go? To military contractors. - (cluborlov.blogspot.com)
Public deposit scheme: an alternative to "regulate and insure" banking - (www.macroresilience.com)
Why don't we have standardized health insurance choices? - (www.nytimes.com)
The untold story of General Electric's subprime debacle - (www.iwatchnews.org)
The Secret Shadow Housing Crisis - (www.youtube.com)
Sean Quinn and Ireland's Boom and Bust - (www.nytimes.com)
So... You've Been Indefinitely Detained! Helpful Information From Gov't - (www.boingboing.net)
Using Social Networks To Reveal A Slumlord Conspiracy - (www.orgnet.com)
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