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January Unemployment Falls to 8.3 Percent By Christopher Rugaber, Associated Press, Feb 3, 2012 In the most impressive surge for the job market since the middle of last decade, the United States added 243,000 jobs in January, far more than economists expected. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent...
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Freddie Mac Bets Against American Homeowners By Jesse Eisinger, ProPublica and Chris Arnold, NPR News Jan. 30, 2012 Freddie Mac, the taxpayer-owned mortgage giant, has placed multibillion-dollar bets that pay off if homeowners stay trapped in expensive mortgages with interest rates well above current...
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Shadow Inventory Vastly Larger Than Believed By Michael Olenick, Naked Capitalism, Jan. 3, 2012 In a 2011 deposition, Florida attorney David J. Stern said Fannie Mae apparently had 600,000 loans they expected to foreclose upon in Florida. Not Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, VHA, and private label mortgages...
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Foreclosures by Major Banks Increase 21.1% in Third Quarter By Jim Puzzanghera, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 22, 2011 Foreclosures by major banks jumped 21.1 percent in the third quarter as voluntary holds for paperwork problems were lifted, according to federal regulators. But the number of homes en route...
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Housing Starts Jump 9.3% in November By Paul Sakuma, USA TODAY, Dec. 20, 2011 A surge in apartment construction gave builders more work in November. But 2011 is still shaping up to be one of the worst years in history for homebuilders. The Commerce Department says builders broke ground on a seasonally...
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Nevada Sues LPS By Aljandro Lazo, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 16, 2011 Nevada has filed suit against a major player in the foreclosure business, Lender Processing Services, claiming the company is responsible for perpetrating widespread consumer fraud in the Silver State. The lawsuit against Florida-based...
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Mortgage Rates Fall Below 4% By Nick Timiraos, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 6, 2011 What if the 30-year mortgage rate fell below 4% and few people cared? We may not have to wonder much longer. The average 30-year mortgage dropped to 3.94% for the week ending Wednesday, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly...
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Washington Supreme Court to Weigh Legality of MERS Foreclosures By Elliot Njus, The Oregonian, Sept. 2, 2011 Washington state's highest court is set to determine whether thousands of pending foreclosures can proceed out of court, potentially averting months of conflicting and murky rulings. The court...
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Fixing the Economy: We Got it Wrong By James K. Galbraith, Los Angeles Times, August 15, 2011 (OPINION) Our economic issues are worse than expected, and our solutions haven't worked. We need to start anew. Stimulus alone was never going to bring recover. The financial system needs a complete overhaul...
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GOP Set to Begin Chipping Away at Mortgage Giants March 14, 2011, Wall Street Journal Republican lawmakers are preparing this week to introduce a series of legislative proposals to gradually reduce the role of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The effort represents a tactical shift from the comprehensive approach...