Will Obama’s plan stop another foreclosure tsunami?

Will Obama’s plan stop another foreclosure tsunami?
Orange County Register

President Barack Obama gave a speech today designed to revive momentum for a major overhaul of financial regulation.

He admonished Wall Street players for falling back on pre-crisis behavior, including fat bonuses based on short-term gains.

FDIC Proposes Mortgage Forbearance for the Jobless and Part-Timers
DSNews

As rampant unemployment sours the mortgage industry, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is “encouraging” its partner banks to do more to help borrowers troubled by job losses or underemployment.

In a press release last week, the agency called on banks that acquire the FDIC’s failed institutions to drop mortgage rates for half a year or more for borrowers whose livelihoods have been ravaged by the economic recession.

No Easy Exit for Government as Housing Market's Savior
The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- After a year of extraordinary interventions in the economy, the federal government is starting to pare its support for the private sector. It doesn't look that way to Peter Lansing, president of mortgage firm Universal Lending.

The Denver home lender sees every day how dependent the housing market has become on the government. At the height of the boom, just 20% of Universal's mortgages were backed by the Federal Housing Administration, an arm of the government that guarantees loans to borrowers who can't afford big down payments. Today, the FHA accounts for more than 80% of his business. For Mr. Lansing, this represents a new way of life -- more government, more paperwork, but also a lot of sales that wouldn't have happened otherwise.

Bernanke Says U.S. Recession ‘Very Likely’ Has Ended
Bloomberg

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the worst U.S. recession since the 1930s has probably ended, while warning that growth may not be strong enough to quickly reduce the unemployment rate.

“Even though from a technical perspective the recession is very likely over at this point, it’s still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time,” Bernanke said today at the Brookings Institution in Washington, responding to questions after a speech.

U.S. Commercial Property Won't Recover Until 2012, Survey Says
Bloomberg

The U.S. commercial real estate market is unlikely to recover before 2012 and office rents in New York and San Francisco may drop 20 percent through next year, a survey of property investors found.

Suburban office rents could fall as much as 20 percent, while downtown office rents may decline about 10 percent, according to the quarterly PricewaterhouseCoopers Korpacz Real Estate Investor Survey, released today.