Because THEY want you to, America:
"Raise debt ceiling, banks urge; Executives fear economic harm if Congress stalls" by Phil Mattingly and Peter Cook, Bloomberg News / July 29, 2011
WASHINGTON - Bankers including Goldman Sachs Group chairman and chief executive Lloyd Blankfein and JPMorgan Chase & Co. chief Jamie Dimon called on President Obama and Congress to raise the federal debt limit to steer the US government away from the threat of default.
''The consequences of inaction - for our economy, the already struggling job market, the financial circumstances of American businesses and families, and for America's global economic leadership - would be very grave,'' the executives wrote in the letter sent yesterday by the Financial Services Forum, a Washington-based trade group representing the largest banks....
''A default on our nation's obligations, or a downgrade of America's credit rating, would be a tremendous blow to business and investor confidence - raising interest rates for everyone who borrows, undermining the value of the dollar, and roiling stock and bond markets,'' the group of financial industry executives wrote in the letter to Congress and the White House.
What is the "we" stuff, you shit-scum vampires?
And if you are worried about the dollar tell Bernanke to shut off those printing presses that are buying back all the MBS shit.
In addition to Blankfein and Dimon, the letter included signatures from chief executives representing Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Morgan Stanley, US Bancorp, Wells Fargo & Co., and State Street Corp....
Gee, if State Street is SO CONCERNED then they can GIVE BACK the $885 million-dollar TAX REFUND(?) when they MADE $1.6 BILLION in PROFITS last year -- and will be able to AVOID TAXES for YEARS TO COME by CONTINUING to APPLY PAST LOSSES!
See: State Street Stealers
Yeah, but YOUR SOCIAL SECURITY and MEDICARE has to be CUT, Americans!!!!!!
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Yeah, it is just ONE FRAUD AFTER ANOTHER with these assholes, isn't it?
"Foreclosure rates drop as banks hold off; Most major US metro areas see sharp declines" by Alex Veiga, Associated Press / July 29, 2011
LOS ANGELES - Most of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas are seeing a sharp drop in foreclosure activity as banks take longer to move against homeowners who are behind on their mortgage payments....
The decline is due to delays in the foreclosure process as lenders work through foreclosure documentation problems that first surfaced last fall.
Is that ever written from the banker's point-of-view or what? Yup, working their way through the fraud they perpetrated on people. They get the homes back yet?
Those problems prompted them to resubmit paperwork on many properties that had been slated for foreclosure and led to a slew of government investigations of the mortgage industry.
Another sanitized s*** paragraph regarding the fraud.
Related: Coakley steps up probe into foreclosure fraud
Government investigations always result in slap-on-the-wrist spits shots. Now why i$ that?
Also see: Slow Saturday Special: Massachusetts Court Rejects Foreclosure Fraud
Mortgage banks have also put off taking action against newly delinquent borrowers in order to try loan modifications or other tactics aimed at avoiding foreclosure.
That's such bullshit. Banks are not out trying to help people.
See: Slow Saturday Special: JPMorgan Chase's Catch
Banks Are Your Friend
Are those things a friend would do to you?
In addition, lackluster home sales this year have provided little incentive for lenders to evict homeowners and chance having the property sit empty and unsold for months.
But it is at least a HARD ASSET -- as opposed to that increasingly worthless piece-of-shit paper in your wallet, Americans. Aren't you getting it?
See: Banks Acting Like Israel
Yeah, whatever, newspaper.
Some 1.7 million potential foreclosures are being held up, according real estate firm CoreLogic.
Wait until those hit.
The slowdown in foreclosure activity has been most pronounced in states where courts play a role in the foreclosure process and now have to wade through a logjam of cases....
Meaning those that have challenged the banks legally have forced them to stop fraudulently seizing homes.
Despite the slowdown in the pace of foreclosures, many cities continue to have elevated foreclosure rates....
When you guys end the propaganda that way I know what I have just been reading is aaaaal bullshit.
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Just sign the papers:
"Registrar vs. robosigners; The head of the Registry of Deeds in Salem is challenging lenders’ handling of mortgage records; some say he’s overstepping his authority" July 14, 2011|By Jenifer B. McKim, Globe Staff
A county registrar doesn’t usually take on major US lenders, send out rapid fire press releases, and investigate the home loans of celebrities such as Sarah Palin.
But John O’Brien Jr., head of the Southern Essex District Registry of Deeds in Salem, says he’s on a mission to protect the integrity of property records.
O’Brien, 59, is gaining national recognition among housing advocates, and rankling local real estate attorneys, for his aggressive actions - which most recently included the rejection of property documents signed by alleged “robosigners.’’
He also has called his registry a “crime scene’’ riddled with fraudulent paperwork, and last month O’Brien alleged that Palin unknowingly bought an Arizona home whose paperwork was signed by robosigners - bank representatives who didn’t properly review mortgage documents. (Palin did not respond to a request for comment.)
“Banks have participated in a national epidemic of fraud that has clouded or damaged the chain of title of hundreds of thousands of American homeowners all across the country,’’ O’Brien said in one of his many press releases. “It would be a dereliction of my duties as the keeper of the records to record these documents and any other documents that contain questionable signatures.’’
The feeling her is if the CHAIN is DAMAGED then the HOMEOWNER STAYS and there ARE NO MORE MORTGAGE PAYMENTS! They now OWN IT THEMSELVES since the BANKS COULD NOT KEEP the RECORDS STRAIGHT!
That's an EASY DECISION for ANY FAIR JUDGE!
To some, O’Brien - who was first sworn in to his elected post in 1977 - is the champion of homeowners battling lenders who act as if they are above the law.
They MAKE the LAW!
See:
Who REALLY Runs Washington
Banks Bought Off Both Parties
Pretty darn obvious these days.
But others say he has gone too far, using flawed analysis to overstep his authority as an official recorder of property documents. His tactics have left local real estate attorneys, and even colleagues, scrambling for guidance from state authorities....
Yeah, that's them.
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"Bank of America sued over fraud allegations" by Hugh Son, Bloomberg News / July 29, 2011
NEW YORK - Bank of America Corp., the biggest US lender, faces a new securities fraud lawsuit filed by former Countrywide Financial Corp. investors including BlackRock Inc. that opted out of a $624 million settlement last year.
Countrywide, acquired by Bank of America in 2008, misled shareholders about its finances and lending practices, according to the complaint filed yesterday in federal court in Los Angeles.
We call it LYING here!
Plaintiffs including the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and funds managed by BlackRock, T. Rowe Price Group Inc. and TIAA-CREF are the largest group of those who rejected the deal, saying the terms were inadequate.
Yeah, PENSION FUNDS were SCREWED -- and then there was a big media and political push to cut those benefits for teachers, cops, firefighters, and kill their collective bargaining power.
How VERY INTERESTING!
The investors hope to “maximize’’ their returns in a jury trial, their attorney, Blair Nicholas, a partner at Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP, said in an e-mail.
For Bank of America chief executive Brian T. Moynihan, 51, the suit is the latest challenge resulting from his predecessor’s purchase of Countrywide. The lender agreed last month to pay $8.5 billion to settle disputes from bondholders, including New York-based BlackRock, over defective Countrywide mortgages, contributing to a record $8.83 billion second-quarter loss.
Yeah, I'm really crying for BoA.
Also see: Bank of AmeriKa Buys Back Fraudulent Mortgage-Backed Securities
Bill Halldin, a spokesman for Charlotte, N.C.- based Bank of America, had no immediate comment on the lawsuit....
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And Countrywide was WIDE with FRAUD!
"Countrywide to begin paying back borrowers" July 21, 2011|By Gretchen Morgenson, New York Times
More than 450,000 borrowers who were charged excessive fees by Countrywide Home Loans when they fell behind on their mortgages will finally begin receiving the $108 million the company agreed to pay in a settlement struck with the Federal Trade Commission in June 2010, the agency said yesterday....
Un-flipping-f***ing-real!
“It is astonishing that one single company could be responsible for overcharging more than 450,000 homeowners, which is more than 1 percent of all the mortgages in the United States,’’ Jon Leibowitz, chairman of the trade commission, said. Countrywide’s “was a business model based on deceit and corruption, and the harm they caused to American consumers is absolutely massive and extraordinary.’’
************************
To profit from property inspections, title searches, and maintenance on homes going through foreclosure, Countrywide set up subsidiaries to do the work and marked up the cost of the services by more than 100 percent. The company’s strategy was designed to increase profits from default-related services during bad economic times, the FTC said.
But the BANKS are ON YOUR SIDE, Americans!!
Some troubled borrowers were charged $300 to mow their lawns, for example....
Is that what I should be charging?
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And it's ALL of 'EM, folks!
"Wells Fargo settles mortgage case for $85m" July 21, 2011|Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to pay $85 million to settle civil charges that it falsified loan documents and pushed borrowers toward subprime mortgages with higher interest rates during the housing boom.
The fine is the largest ever imposed by the Federal Reserve in a consumer-enforcement case, the central bank said yesterday....
Meaning they got off light.
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Also see: Banks Reserve Profits For Themselves
Wells Fargo mad how many billions LAST QUARTER?
And DO NOT FORGET the MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES FRAUD they perpetrated!
"Regulator sues UBS in mortgage-backed securities case" by July 28, 2011|Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The regulator of government-controlled mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is suing UBS AG in an effort to recoup more than $900 million in losses from mortgage-backed securities purchased from the banking giant during the housing boom....
And you are bailing them out to the tune of BILLIONS, Americans.
Fannie and Freddie bought more than $4.5 billion in home loans pooled into securities from UBS between 2005 and 2007....
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, own or guarantee about half of all mortgages in the nation. While Fannie and Freddie didn’t make subprime loans, they did buy securities tied to those risky mortgages. The companies had said they felt pressure to compete against Wall Street firms that were backing extremely risky loans.
The government rescued them from the brink of failure in September 2008 after they nearly toppled.
And again, the BILLIONS American taxpayers have been forced to put up remains unmentioned.
Related:
“They’ve cleared the decks to use Fannie and Freddie as a vessel for whatever they want.... taking troubled mortgage investments off banks’ books.’’
And how much is that going to cost, readers?
"Obama’s budget blueprint also excludes the $6.3 trillion in liabilities of government-controlled Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and delays for a second time a decision on restructuring the mortgage finance companies, which were seized 17 months ago"
Did I say BILLIONS, readers? I meant TRILLIONS!
See: FORECLOSURE FRAUD & $45 TRILLION DOLLARS
Wow, that is ONE HELL of a BILL !
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Also see: BANKERS GONE WILD
WALL STREET'S MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITY FRAUD DESTROYED BOTH THE US AND EU ECONOMIES!
But THE ARE LOOKING OUT for YOU AND YOURS so RAISE that DEBT CEILING!
"House delays a vote on debt limit; Support still lacking for Boehner plan" by y Donovan Slack and Theo Emery, Globe Staff / July 29, 2011
WASHINGTON - Inflexible House Republicans forced Speaker John Boehner late last night to put off an expected vote on legislation to raise the country’s borrowing limit, dealing a stunning blow to the GOP leader’s authority just days before the country is set to run out of money....
Related: Owing a Debt of Gratitude to the Boston Globe
Inflexible insurgents, huh?
And just who is the newspaper to be deciding that, anyway?
Even if the bill had passed, the Democratic leader of the Senate said his chamber would reject it....
Then why bother reading all this s***?
Senate majority leader Harry Reid called the House measure a short-term fix that risked the downgrading of the nation’s credit rating, even while alleviating the looming cash crunch.
“It does not provide stability and it certainly doesn’t help our economy in any way,’’ Reid said.
And digging a deeper hole with larger interest payments does?
"Interest on the national debt rose 9 percent to $386 billion in the first nine months of this year"
Either way tens of billions of dollars more will be added.
And maybe that is the point of it all.
The Obama administration has said it needs the limit increased by $2.4 trillion to meet spending needs until 2013. Republicans have rejected such a large increase.
If the House passes the Boehner bill and the Senate rejects it, the focus would be squarely on a competing proposal from Reid....
About half of the savings in Reid’s measure comes from winding down the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, something Republicans have called a “budget gimmick’’ because the wars are ending anyway....
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!! Yeah, RIGHT!
U.S. is BEGGING to STAY in Iraq, and an Afghanistan exit is still YEARS AWAY!
And WHY NOT STOP PAYMENT on the WARS instead of SOCIAL SECURITY, shitter!?
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Or simply stop the OVERPAYMENT!
"Audit finds Army overpaid on contractor insurance" by Bloomberg News Associated Press, Boston Globe, July 29, 2011
WASHINGTON - The Army Corps of Engineers overpaid war insurance premiums by at least $10 million to a unit of CNA Financial Corp....
It's SOP when it comes to the war machine of empire:
"The Pentagon's 97 largest acquisition programs are recording cost overruns of almost $300 billion and the programs are an average of 22 months behind schedule"
Related: Following Zakheim and Pentagon trillions to Israel and 9-11
So that's where it all goes.
The overpayments stemmed from a combination of lax oversight and CNA paperwork that was “not always complete, accurate, or current,’’ the acting special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, Herb Richardson, said in an audit released yesterday....
The insurance companies are just like the banks!
The review is the latest report to illuminate the workings and alleged deficiencies - such as excessive premiums and late or non-payments to survivors - of a little-known system intended to pay death and injury benefits to war-zone workers....
Related: Veterans Getting a Piece of Iraq
Taking Interest in the American War Dead
Also see: Checking Out Checkbook
Yeah, it is NOT JUST SOLDIERS, America!
US and foreign contractors, under the 1941 Defense Base Act, are required to take out death and injury insurance for all US employees and subcontractors doing business overseas.
The government reimburses companies for the premiums. In many cases, if the injury or death is war-related, insurers also will be reimbursed as well for the full cost of benefits, plus 15 percent in administrative fees.
The Pentagon and the Labor Department are both responsible for overseeing the war insurance program that has seen claims surge since the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq....
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And talk about overpaying:
"Profits strong at Exxon Mobil, Shell amid new projects" by Clifford Krauss and Julia Werdigier, New York Times / July 29, 2011
HOUSTON - Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell PLC reported strong second-quarter earnings yesterday, taking advantage of higher oil and gasoline prices while investing heavily in new energy projects....
It was the strongest quarter for Exxon Mobil since it set a corporate quarterly earnings record of $14.8 billion in 2008, when crude oil prices approached $150 a barrel before collapsing as the world economy slowed.
The strong profits reported by the largest oil companies of the United States and Europe followed the strong results posted by ConocoPhillips and a number of other independent oil companies and oil service companies in recent days.
The industry is investing heavily in US oil and gas projects in shale fields, gradually shifting to oil because of the high price of crude and lagging price of gas. Oil prices rose more than 30 percent during the quarter, mainly because of political disruptions in North Africa and the Middle East, while natural gas prices rose less than 1 percent.
Yeah, right, Bernanke's weakening of the dollar to buy back MBS frauds have nothing to do with it. It's all those freedom-seeking Arabs fault.
But even with low gas prices, Exxon Mobil, Shell and other energy firms are continuing to buy prospective fields in the United States, Europe, Argentina, and elsewhere, and overall gas production is still rising after a decade of strong increases in output.
Shell started two projects in the first half of the year in Qatar and expanded its Canadian oil sands operation. The Qatargas 4 liquefied natural gas project is now at full capacity and the new Pearl gas-to-liquids operation has started producing, Shell said. The projects are expected to contribute more than 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in peak production, it said.
Exxon reported earnings of $10.7 billion, up from $7.56 billion and revenue of $125.49 billion, up from $92.47 billion. Shell profit rose to $8.7 billion from $4.4 billion.
And that is ALL WITHIN the LAST THREE MONTHS, Americans.
How did you do this last quarter?
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What an appropriate way to end the post with TWO CLOSELY LINKED CAUSES that seem to COME WITH EACH OTHER: WAR and OIL!
