In looking through the headlines, the news this week is once again saturated with stories about how bad the industry is doing - foreclosures being at the forefront. The Florida housing bubble is in danger of bursting, first-time home buyers are facing hard times, and, it appears as though a date has been set for when the sub-prime meltdown will finally hit bottom. Thank goodness! Now I can mark it on my calendar and continue ignoring all of the bad press that seems to be dominating our industry.
On a side note, did you get a chance to watch the baseball Hall of Fame induction ceremony this weekend? One of our own - career Baltimore Oriole Cal Ripken Jr. - was inducted in front of a record crowd in Cooperstown. I just wanted to say congratulations to Cal, and thanks for all the memories here in Baltimore.
Have a great week.
P.S. Also, if you have a moment (and think you're smart at recognizing online scams), take this quiz.
|
|
 |
Chris Beauchamp |
|
| Americans aren't the only ones fed up with offshore call centers. In "Luring Customers with Local Call Centers," Newsweek reports that British firms are finding that the cost savings of offshoring are offset by losses in client retention and satisfaction, and companies are moving support operations back home.
Full Story
|
|
 |
BillSparkmanTheCoach |
|
| Remember when you learned how to ride a bicycle? You probably began with training wheels. Eventually, when they were removed, things became more difficult. You struggled to stay upright, maybe even falling a few times and scraping yourself.
Full Story
|
|
 |
MarketWatch |
|
| American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. shares came under pressure on Monday after the lender said that recent disruption in credit markets has triggered "significant" margin calls.
Full Story
|
TheBuffaloNews |
|
| New York mortgage foreclosures rose 13 percent last month from a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac, a seller of foreclosure data. A $100-million refinancing program has been created by the state and the mortgage industry for people on the verge of losing their homes because of risky, adjustable-rate mortgages.
Full Story
|
Examiner |
|
| The number of mortgage holders more than 30 days late on their payments will continue to rise through 2008, according to a new report.
Full Story
|
Sun-Sentinel |
|
| Mounting mortgage defaults across South Florida threaten to hurt more than just those homeowners who lose their properties to lenders. Experts say foreclosures could drag down already sluggish housing prices throughout entire neighborhoods.
Full Story
|
Bloomberg |
|
| The risk of owning corporate bonds rose to the highest in at least three years after a German bank slashed its profit forecast because of "massive uncertainty" in the market for subprime mortgages and credit.
Full Story
|
ShareWatch |
|
| GMAC Financial Services, the finance company formerly controlled by General Motors Corp., said Monday continued losses from its home lending operations caused second-quarter profit to fall sharply.
Full Story
|
HeraldTribune |
|
| Fannie Mae, the largest provider of money for U.S. home loans, said it held $47.2 billion of securities backed by subprime mortgages at the end of June. Freddie Mac, the second-largest, held $120.8 billion of such debt as of May 31.
Full Story
|
MoneyMorning |
|
| The already ailing U.S. mortgage market is going to get worse through the remainder of this year, according to an analysis released late last week by Moody’s Economy.com. And it won’t turn around early next year, either, the study says.
Full Story
|
Newsday |
|
| With the mortgage industry rocked by soaring delinquency and foreclosure rates, particularly in the subprime loans made to people with weaker credit, lenders have become a lot stricter about doling out the dough. They have tightened their credit standards, requiring higher down payments, better credit scores and more documentation on income and assets.
Full Story
|
IdahoBusinessReview |
|
| Idaho trails much of the U.S. in foreclosures but is not immune from fresh U.S. concerns about weaker home sales and suspect creditworthiness among borrowers.
Full Story
|
|
 |
FederalTradeCommission |
|
| The Federal Trade Commission today told the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, that the agency is conducting several fair lending investigations of mortgage lending companies while continuing its work with other agencies to enforce laws against lending discrimination and predatory lending.
Full Story
|
|
 |
NewYorkBusiness |
|
| Two New York real estate developers were charged with fraud for allegedly hatching a scheme that bilked investors out of $27 million that had been earmarked for the renovation of 16 apartment buildings in upper Manhattan.
Full Story
|
FTC stops massive, deceptive telemarketer |
|
| The Federal Trade Commission, with assistance from local police and the United States Postal Inspection Service, today halted the operations of a massive, Largo, Florida-based telemarketing scheme operated by Suntasia Marketing, Inc. The FTC alleges that over the last several years, Suntasia used at least fifteen different business names to defraud consumers across the United States out of tens, and perhaps hundreds, of millions of dollars.
Full Story
|
Wate6 |
|
| A Gatlinburg man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to charges of mortgage fraud.
Full Story
|
Log In to Your Account | DP website
Copyright 2007 DoublePositive Group, Inc
1030 Hull Street, Suite 300 | Baltimore, MD 21230
888-376-7484
|
