Mortgages & Lending
by Christina Inman
| November 7, 2009
On October 1, new federal lending rules took effect under HOEPA–the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act. One that will benefit consumers most is a restriction on prepayment penalties for higher-priced loans (those with an interest rate 1.5% above prime). No longer will borrowers need to worry about an excessive penalty for paying off their [...]
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Economy
by Peter Giardini
| September 22, 2009
I was listening to a financial talk show on the radio the other day; the host was going nuts over an upcoming Treasury auction where over $140 Billion in 2, 5, and 7 year notes were going to be auctioned. This would represent the most auctioned at one time ever, and would be on top of $60+ Billion in notes auctioned the week before.
This got me to thinking about how much debt was out there and ultimately where current mortgage rates were and what direction they were headed in. Here is what I found…
The State of Debt
In my search I ran across this very sobering set of statistics about who holds the most US debt… take a look at the data, and if you’re not concerned about where interest rates and inflation are heading, then you must be asleep.
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Joshua Dorkin
Charles Feldman
Ted Karsch.
Bailout Economy Has Roots In Obscure Law
by Rob K. Blake | May 31, 2009Many believe the mortgage and housing crisis which triggered an impending financial system meltdown according to the former Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson, would need a Congressional “blank check” to avert disaster. At least, that is what Ben Bernanke and Mr. Paulson told Congress who then gave them the “bailout bill” including the $750 Billion asked [...]