Dec. Unemployment Rate Lowest in Nearly 3 Years
Dec. Unemployment Rate Lowest in Nearly 3 Years
By Tim Mullaney, USA TODAY, Jan. 6, 2012
The U.S. job market strengthened in the second half of 2011 and added 200,000 jobs in December while the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent from a revised 8.7 percent a month earlier. December's biggest growth came in transportation, especially courier services that staffed up for the holidays, and in health care and manufacturing, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Washington Wades Deeper into Housing
By Clea Benson, Lorraine Woellert and Roben Farzad, BusinessWeek, Jan. 5, 2012
Lawmakers began 2011 with sweeping ambitions to shrink the U.S. government’s involvement in mortgage finance. They ended the year enacting policies that increase it. An 11th-hour extension of the payroll tax cut, signed into law on Dec. 23, will for the first time divert funds from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage finance companies under U.S. conservatorship, to pay for general government expenses. Congress also took steps that are likely to increase the role of the Federal Housing Administration in the market — at the same time that the agency’s reserves hit a record low. And some economists are charging that the FHA’s finances are even worse than they appear.
Bailout Concerns Mounting for FHA
By Les Christie, CNNMoney, Jan. 3, 2012
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.
30-Year Mortgage Down to Record 3.91 Pct.
By Dereck Kravitz, Bloomberg, Jan. 5, 2012
2012 looks to be another year of opportunity for the few who can afford to buy or refinance a home.The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.91 percent this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. That matches the record low reached two weeks ago.
Florida Man Almost Loses Home Over 80 Cents
By Susanna Kim, ABC News, Jan. 5, 2012
A Florida man who is trying to get a loan modification from Bank of America is worried he may lose his home over an 80 cent mistake. Tom Mudie, 56, arranged a three-month trial period that would allow him to obtain a loan modification for his home in Largo, Fla. But a slip of the finger on a telephone payment system and he accidentally underpaid one of the trial payments by 80 cents, putting his house in jeopardy of being foreclosed.