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Foreclosure Lawyer Stern Sued by His Old Company - (www.nytimes.com) David J. Stern, who became one of the country's best-known foreclosure lawyers before shutting his business under regulatory pressure, has been sued for fraud by the publicly traded company he helped create to take on his now-defunct law firm's back-office operations. DJSP Enterprises Inc said Stern, a former chief executive, concealed that his law firm David J. Stern PA inflated revenue by systematically "cutting corners" in the foreclosure process. It said this took place even though the firm knew that such clients as Citigroup Inc, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might flee. DJSP said the shortcuts included letting workers sign foreclosure documents without reading them, known as "robo-signing," and submitting false or backdated documents to courts. It also said Stern awarded bonuses and "extravagant gifts" to workers who could churn out foreclosures quickly.
Spike in serious delinquencies for FHA loans - (www.cnn.com) Concerns are growing that the Federal Housing Administration will need to be bailed out by taxpayers. The agency's latest monthly outlook report revealed a spike in serious delinquencies for FHA-insured loans, posing a further threat to the agency's already depleted cash reserves. According to the report, the percentage of loans in the FHA's portfolio with three missed payments or more rose to 9.3% in November, up from 8.4% in August. "It's highly likely that the FHA will need a taxpayer bailout over the next three to five years," said Joseph Gyourko, a real estate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and author of a report entitled "Is FHA the Next Big Housing Bailout?." In November, an independent audit of the FHA's finances found that losses from mortgage defaults had depleted the agency's reserve fund to 0.24%, or $2.6 billion, during fiscal 2011 -- well below the Congressionally-mandated 2% level. (The ratio measures the net worth of the reserve fund compared with the value of the loans FHA has insured.) In 2006, the reserve fund stood at 7%.
Declaring Ron Paul Unelectable shows signs of desperation - (www.oftwominds.com) The Ministry of Propaganda has chosen to suppress the only dangerous-to-the-Power Elites candidate by declaring him "unelectable." The Status Quo's Ministry of Propaganda has a single political task for 2012: eliminate the sole threat to the Status Quo (Ron Paul) from the running, leaving voters with a "choice" of clueless stooges for the Power Elite. That roster includes President Obama and the daytime-TV/soap-opera field of Republicrat contenders. The Ministry of Propaganda has settled on a ludicrous strategy to eliminate Ron Paul: declare Paul "unelectable." As with all propaganda, the basic idea is that if it is repeated often enough on officially sanctioned stages, it will eventually be accepted as "true."
The New American Dream: Rent, Don't Buy - (www.thefiscaltimes.com) Call it the Big Selloff—America is headed toward a future in which fewer people own the spaces they call home. The effective homeownership rate, which excludes borrowers whose homes are underwater, stands at 62 percent, down from 69 percent in 2006, according to a 2010 report by the New York Federal Reserve. As more people move from owning to renting, apartment vacancy rates have fallen fast, from 8 percent in 2009 to 5.6 percent in third quarter 2011. That’s pushed up rents in all markets by 2.5 percent, including apartments and single-family homes, to an average of $846 nationwide, according to Local Market Monitor, a home price forecaster. For a two-bedroom dwelling, the average rent was at $1,020 in June 2011. Those trends are just the beginning, concludes a July report from investment bankMorgan Stanley: the United States is becoming a nation of renters and home ownership will keep falling. And that, say some experts, could be good for the country.
The NDAA Repeals More Rights - (www.marketoracle.co.uk) Little by little, in the name of fighting terrorism, our Bill of Rights is being repealed. The 4th amendment has been rendered toothless by the PATRIOT Act. No more can we truly feel secure in our persons, houses, papers, and effects when now there is an exception that fits nearly any excuse for our government to search and seize our property. Of course, the vast majority of Americans may say "I'm not a terrorist, so I have no reason to worry." However, innocent people are wrongly accused all the time. The Bill of Rights is there precisely because the founders wanted to set a very high bar for the government to overcome in order to deprive an individual of life or liberty. To lower that bar is to endanger everyone. When the bar is low enough to include political enemies, our descent into totalitarianism is virtually assured. The PATRIOT Act, as bad is its violation of the 4th Amendment, was just one step down the slippery slope. The recently passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) continues that slip toward tyranny and in fact accelerates it significantly. The main section of concern, Section 1021 of the NDAA Conference Report, does to the 5th Amendment what the PATRIOT Act does to the 4th. The 5th Amendment is about much more than the right to remain silent in the face of government questioning. It contains very basic and very critical stipulations about due process of law. The government cannot imprison a person for no reason and with no evidence presented or access to legal counsel.
Cohan: Did Psychopaths Take Over Wall Street? - (www.bloomberg.com)
Overclass vs. Underclass - (www.nytimes.com)
The Debtwatch Manifesto - (www.debtdeflation.com)
Tale of Two Markets: Breaking Down Case-Shiller Tiered Indices - (www.bayarearealestatetrends.com)
2012 Forecast: Bang and Whimper - (www.kunstler.com)
The Storm Surge of Decentralization - (www.blogspot.com)
Is Shadow Housing Inventory Vastly Larger Than Widely Believed? - (www.nakedcapitalism.com)
Iowa: The Meaningless Sideshow Begins - (www.rollingstone.com)
Progressives And Ron Paul - (www.npr.org)
Gold Standard Is An Election Winner for 2012 - (www.rollcall.com)
No longer the land of opportunity - (www.washingtonpost.com)
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