Student aid linked to health care gets a trim (AP)
Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:04:34 GMT - (AP)

AP - Congressional Democrats on Thursday trimmed their original student loan plans, reduced spending for community colleges, and eliminated early childhood money from a broad rewrite of a college aid bill piggybacked on to fast-track health care legislation.

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America's Most Underwater Housing Markets (U.S. News & World Report)
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:09:27 GMT
U.S. News & World Report - Negative equity--what you have when you owe more on your home loan than the property is worth--is one of the defining features of the still-unfolding mortgage crisis. It's a particularly nasty problem because it can lead to all sorts of unpleasant outcomes for the real estate market and the economy as a whole. Having negative equity, which is also known as being "underwater" on a mortgage, makes homeowners more likely to end up in foreclosure. It restricts a borrower's ability to refinance or buy another home, which in turn stifles demand for housing. ...
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Five Homegrown Growth Stocks (The Motley Fool)
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:03:04 GMT
The Motley Fool - Proponents of diversification extol the virtues of spreading your investments over different assets, sectors, and geography. The last part in this holy trinity geography is particularly captivating to a growing cadre of investors.
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Mortgage rates still below 5 percent (AP)
Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:16:37 GMT
AP - Mortgage rates held below the 5 percent threshold for the third straight week as the Federal Reserve prepares to end a program that has kept rates at or near record lows.
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Fed's Bernanke sees U.S. backing Fannie, Freddie debt (Reuters)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:07:33 GMT
Reuters - Current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities are likely to retain U.S. government backing should Congress create a new system for financing U.S. homes, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.
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Parsing the Fed's Statement: Experts Weigh In (The Motley Fool)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:12:40 GMT
The Motley Fool - Surprise, surprise. As expected, the Federal Reserve on Tuesday held short-term interest rates unchanged at historic lows and maintained that it will keep rates low for an extended period of time. The central bank also reiterated its pledge to stop buying mortgage-backed securities at the end of this month. However, the Fed did upgrade its assessment of the economy.
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Moving target: Goal for foreclosure aid in dispute (AP)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:52:52 GMT
AP - Last year, the message was clear. Now it is murky.
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Wells Fargo signs up for loan modification program (AP)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:15:36 GMT
AP - Wells Fargo & Co. has become the second bank to sign up for a government program to modify second mortgages.
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Bailout watchdog to audit gov't mortgage program (AP)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:12:49 GMT
AP - The federal bank bailout watchdog is planning to scrutinize the formula used by mortgage companies to evaluate borrowers for the Obama administration $75 billion mortgage relief program.
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Fannie Mae slashes mortgage investment forecast (Reuters)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:25:41 GMT
Reuters - Fannie Mae, the largest provider of U.S. residential funding, on Wednesday slashed its forecast for residential investment this quarter following a "setback" in home sales, and warned on its impact on the economic recovery.
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Getting a Mortgage Without Perfect Credit (BusinessWeek)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:08:44 GMT
BusinessWeek - The government keeps promoting programs designed to help existing homeowners refinance their mortgages at a lower rate, as well as get perspective buyers into homes. In other words, Uncle Sam says he's here to help. "Phooey," say homeowners and prospective homeowners, who keep complaining that it is ridiculously hard to get a mortgageor refinance one. Can both sides be right? Unfortunately, yes. But if you are willing to do a bit more work than in the past, it is possible to lower your mortgage rate to 5% or arrange to buy your first home. It is clear that there is pent-up demand to do both. ...
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When Will Mortgage Rates Go Up? (BusinessWeek)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:08:44 GMT
BusinessWeek - Over the last several months, I've written a lot about the current state of residential real estate, and the opportunities made available by the combination of lower housing prices and falling interest rates. As we approach the end of this year's residential real estate buying-and-selling season, this is a good time to start thinking about what might lie ahead.
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Korea Life gains; buoys hopes for Samsung Life IPO (Reuters)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:21:57 GMT
Reuters - Korea Life Insurance Co (088350.KS) shares closed up 8 percent in heavy trading on their debut on Wednesday, signaling keen demand ahead of bigger rival Samsung Life's planned $4 billion IPO in May.
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Visteon judge won't halt benefits termination (AP)
Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:06:54 GMT
AP - A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday refused to halt implementation of his order allowing auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. to terminate its retirees' health and life insurance benefits.
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Fake tax refund scams on the rise as tax day looms (The Christian Science Monitor)
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 23:08:48 GMT
The Christian Science Monitor - Justice Department lawyers are seeking to shut down a Huntington Beach, Calif., tax preparation service accused of attempting to obtain $15 million in fraudulent tax refund checks.
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PIMCO: End of mortgage buys form of tightening (Reuters)
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:50:50 GMT - (Reuters)

Reuters - The end of the Federal Reserve's program of purchasing $1.25 trillion of mortgage-backed securities at the end of March is a form of tightening monetary policy, the chief of the largest U.S. bond fund manager said on Tuesday.

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Summary Box: Housing construction falls in Feb. (AP)
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:06:51 GMT
AP - HOUSING STARTS: Construction of new homes and apartments fell 5.9 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 575,000 units.
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Is ExxonMobil Still Best of Breed? (The Motley Fool)
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:19:58 GMT
The Motley Fool - It doesn't take a genius to recall that ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM - News) is the biggest of Big Oil. So with that fact out of the way, those with a yen for investing in energy are left to question whether the company is also the best of its group.
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Time to Buy This Tasty Appalachian Combination? (The Motley Fool)
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:17:03 GMT
The Motley Fool - Just like the chocolate purist in those old ads who protested the delectable combination, coal investors protested CONSOL Energy's (NYSE: CNX - News) deeper dip into natural gas Monday with a 10% sell-off, dropping shares beneath $49 apiece. Although swallowing fossil fuels is never a good idea, investors may wish to "taste" this unique combination of fuels before protesting themselves.
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Bad weather depresses housing starts in February (Reuters)
Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:17:08 GMT - (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. housing starts fell last month as winter storms disrupted construction, and another drop in building permits suggested the weakness would linger.

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