Monday, March 24, 2008

Yahoo - "Fed's Moves Bring Praise, New Scrutiny" (3-22-08)

"
The Federal Reserve has taken its boldest action since the Great Depression, invoking rarely used powers in an effort to contain a panic threatening to undermine the economy. The central bank acted with speed the White House and Congress only could envy. For now, the steps orchestrated by Chairman Ben Bernanke, in the first critical test of his leadership since succeeding Alan Greenspan in early 2006, are earning praise from the Bush administration, Congress and presidential contenders Barack Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton and John McCain."

Bloomberg - "Bank of America May Take $6.5 Billion Loss Provision" (3-22-08)

"
Bank of America Corp., the second biggest U.S. bank by assets, may take a record $6.5 billion provision in the first quarter to cover possible future losses in its home equity and mortgage portfolios, Punk Ziegel and Co. analyst Richard Bove wrote. Whether the two portfolios have that level of loss will depend on the economy and developments in the housing markets, Bove wrote in his e-mailed March 24 report. The bank, meanwhile, will experience only a shift in equity and still report a profit, he wrote. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank plans to release first-quarter results April 21."

Bloomberg - "Fed Denies Report It's Involved in Talks on Buying Mortgages" (3-22-08)

"
A Federal Reserve official denied a newspaper report that the Fed is in talks with foreign central banks about the feasibility of using taxpayer money to buy mortgage-backed securities. The Financial Times reported today that the discussions among officials at the Fed, the Bank of England and the European Central Bank are part of broader talks about how to ease turmoil in global financial markets. The newspaper didn't say where it got the information."

Orange County Register - "What Spitzer incident teaches us about government and banking" (3-22-08)

"Federal investigators began watching Eliot Spitzer, the former governor of New York who resigned amid a call-girl scandal, after noticing some allegedly irregular banking activity, according to various press reports. The New York Times has an interesting story on the government’s tactics in the case here."

North County Times - "
Real estate prosecutions increase" (3-23-08)

"
A pair of recent FBI raids in Murrieta illustrates caseloads that are growing as homeowners allege recent ---- and not-so-recent --- incidents of real estate fraud, law-enforcement officials said in interviews this month. It has been a year or more since Southern California's most recent real estate wave began to ebb, and court dockets are still filling up with allegations of fraud from the boom. And reports of identity theft and bogus reverse mortgages continue to roll in."

No comments: