Drop in Unemployment Could Have Little Impact on Default Numbers: Analysts

Drop in Unemployment Could Have Little Impact on Default Numbers: Analysts
DSNews

The unemployment rate dropped in November, the U.S. Labor Department reported Friday, as companies shed the fewest number of jobs since the recession kicked in two years ago. Government statistics show that last month, the jobless rate edged down to 10.0 percent, falling from the 26-year-high 10.2 percent hit in October.

Only 11,000 jobs were lost in November, the Labor Department said. Economists had forecast a loss of as much as 130,000, consistent with the average of 135,000 job cuts seen in the prior three months. The employment market still has a long way to go, though, to recover from the damage done since the start of the recession in December 2007, when the jobless rate was 4.9 percent.

Bank of America Provides Relief to More Than 600,000 Homeowners Through Mortgage Modification Efforts
PR Newswire

CALABASAS, Calif. — Bank of America has provided mortgage relief through concluded and trial modifications to more than 600,000 homeowners since January 2008.

"At Bank of America, we remain focused on providing long-term solutions to help distressed customers sustain homeownership," said Jack Schakett, credit loss mitigation strategies executive of Bank of America Home Loans. "Through the government's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) and our own programs, we are moving aggressively to assist as many homeowners as possible."

REOs, short sales aren't always bargains
Inman News

Today's buyers seem to have one thing in common: Everyone wants a great deal. So the real issue is whether the foreclosure, REO or short-sale property you're eyeing is a bargain or a money pit.

The buying public seems to think that "great deal" equals foreclosure, short sale or bank-owned property. The truth is that these properties may appear to be bargains, but in many cases you could be buying someone else's problems. If you're looking for a bargain property, here are some key issues to consider:

Estimated TARP Cost Is Cut by $200 Billion
The Wall Street Journal

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration, buoyed by a resurgent Wall Street, plans to cut the projected long-term cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program by more than $200 billion, in a move that could smooth the way for the introduction of a new jobs program.

The White House and leaders in Congress are debating whether to use any of the remaining TARP funds for other domestic efforts, such as a jobs bill. Congress authorized $700 billion for the program during the height of the financial crisis.

Regulators Close Amtrust Bank and Five Others, Pushing Failed Tally to 130
DSNews

Cleveland, Ohio’s Amtrust Bank was seized by regulators Friday, making it the fourth largest institution to go under in 2009. Five smaller institutions – three in Georgia and one each in Illinois and Virginia – were also shuttered over the weekend.

These latest six closings bring the total number of failed banks for the year to 130, and are expected to cost the FDIC’s already-depleted insurance fund a combined $2.4 billion. As DSNews.com previously reported, the agency’s reserve used to protect consumers’ deposits has slipped into the red – $8.2 billion in the hole at the end of the third quarter.