Articles About Financing

Existing home sales in November rose at a slower pace than anticipated, spurred in part because of the end of a government tax credit aimed at encouraging first-time homeowners to buy.  According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), sales rose 5.6 percent over October to an annual rate of 4.68 million.  Economists had predicted […]

The current ultra-low interest rates are hurting profit margins at banks that depend on the gap between what they charge borrowers and pay depositors to make money.   Pension funds also are hurting, because they are under growing pressure to meet their retirees’ obligations.  Meanwhile, some types of insurance are more costly as firms attempt to […]

The estimated cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) keeps falling, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO).   The latest estimate is that TARP will cost the taxpayers just $25 billion – significantly less than the $700 billion allocated for the financial bailout in the fall of 2008.  The CBO’s last estimate – […]

Against its will, Ireland is now in a state of receivership mandated by the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in an effort to resolve the Emerald Isle’s debt crisis.   European central bankers have paid £111 billion into Ireland’s banks to prevent damage to the euro in what is being jokingly referred […]

Sloppy foreclosure paperwork could upset the nation’s housing market and destabilize the economy in general,  according to a report released by the Congressional Oversight Panel.  This group oversees the government bailout and its statement marks the first time a federal watchdog has issued an opinion on the foreclosure issue.  Consumer advocates and financial analysts had […]

The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is advising banks to divulge their anticipated losses from bad foreclosure documents. Lenders are required to divulge conditions where they “reasonably expect” to have an “unfavorable impact” on financial results, according to a letter posted by the SEC on their website.  SEC posted the letter as a response to […]

The Federal Reserve is going to subject the nation’s 19 largest banks to a new round of stress tests to determine if they are healthy enough to pay dividends to their shareholders again.   The Fed plans to use a conservative approach, applied with an even hand, on the nation’s largest and most complex banks.  The […]

With the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act now the law of the land, commercial real estate executives are waiting to see what impact the legislation will have on their business.   Consensus is that the new healthcare law changes crucial demand drivers for real estate by introducing alternative models to deliver medical services.  The potential […]

The Federal Reserve – in a highly unusual action – is defending its recent purchase of Treasury bonds in an effort to get the U.S. economy moving. Critics of the decision to purchase additional assets, led by former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan, conservative economists and writers, representatives of foreign governments – not to mention Sarah […]

The newly empowered Republicans in the House of Representatives will attempt to rein in regulators who are in the process of implementing the comprehensive reform of financial rules and advocate for a smaller government role in the mortgage market.  By taking control of the House in the recent mid-term elections, the GOP will have more […]