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    Report: HUD Insured Stimulus Loans to Tax Delinquents

    President Obama’s stimulus package subsidized home loans for individuals who already owed the federal government millions in back taxes, according to a new report by federal watchdogs. The report, released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office, found that the Federal Housing Administration, a division of the Department of Housing and … More

    Obama Cuts FHA Fees, Taxpayer Bailout Looms

    President Obama has announced that he ordered the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to cut in half the fee paid by homeowners whose mortgages the agency guarantees. The good news is that this reduction will save those homeowners who are able to refinance their homes about $1,000 annually. The Administration says … More

    FHFA Sues Banks to Recover Housing Bond Losses: Less Than Meets the Eye?

    News reports say that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) will sue about 12 major banks in order to recover some of the losses that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sustained on mortgage-backed securities the banks issued. The suits will seek to make the banks repay a share of about … More

    Morning Bell: End Crony Capitalism

    At 300 East 23rd Street in the exclusive Gramercy Park neighborhood of Manhattan, where to get into parts of the park you need a key granted just to residents, a new 98-unit luxury apartment complex has been built with an outdoor movie theater and panoramic city views. The problem is … More

    How Government Intervention Caused the Credit Crisis

    Fantastic clear explanation of how federal government intervention with the market directly caused today’s financial turmoil by Peter Schiff in today’s Washington Post: Just as prices in a free market are set by supply and demand, financial and real estate markets are governed by the opposing tension between greed and … More

    Tide Turning on Housing Bailout?

    Yesterday we noted how the housing bill’s creation of a National Housing Trust Fund that would funnel money to corrupt and partisan groups such as ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now) was reason enough to be skeptical of the bill. Today the New York Times reports that ACORN … More

    Morning Bell: Can Government Worsen the Mortgage Crisis … ‘Yes We Can!’

    A publicly traded corporation announces a $2.2 billion quarterly loss, a dividend cut and warns that steeper losses are sure to come. One might expect such a company’s stock to go down on such dire news. But not Fannie Mae! On the very day Fannie revealed nothing but bad performance … More

    Morning Bell: Why Is Congress Doubling Down on Mortgage Mess?

    The United States likes to think of itself as a model of free markets. Unfortunately, in far too many sectors of the economy the reality is that the federal government already plays a huge role. Housing is a perfect example. The two Government Sponsored Enterprises (GSE) created to help the … More

    Will FHA Save the Day?

    President Bush and some members of Congress want to dub the Federal Housing Administration as the White Knight who will rescue America from the mortgage mess. They want the agency to help homeowners refinance their subprime loans by offering to guarantee lenders it will cover the tab if the refinanced … More

    Morning Bell: Stop the Bailout Parade Before It Gets Worse

    Now that the Senate has passed its “Foreclosure Enhancement Act,” attention turns to the House, which will hold hearings on its own response to the housing “crisis.” As the Christian Science Monitor reports, “at the heart of the emerging consensus is a bigger role for the Federal Housing Administration in … More