Multiple quick fixes tried for U.S. financial crisis

WASHINGTON – Sept. 19, 2008 – Urgently moving on multiple fronts to stem the worst financial crisis in decades, the government moved Friday to protect money market mutual funds against losses and temporarily banned short-selling of company stocks. The Treasury Department asked Congress to give it sweeping power to buy up toxic debt that has unhinged Wall Street.

President Bush authorized Treasury to tap up to $50 billion from a Depression-era fund to insure the holdings of eligible money market mutual funds.

The dramatic action comes as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke are crafting a massive rescue plan to buy up dodgy assets held by troubled banks and other financial institutions at the heart of the nation's financial crisis.

Congressional leaders said they expected to get the plan Friday and act on it before Congress recesses for the election.

The chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Chris Dodd, D-Conn., warned the United States could be "days away from a complete meltdown of our financial system" and said Congress is working quickly to prevent that.

Dodd told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday that the nation's credit is seizing up and people can't get loans.

The ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, Sen. Richard Shelby, said the U.S. has "been lurching from one crisis to another" and predicted the new bailout plan would cost at least half a trillion dollars.

"We hope to move very quickly. Time is of the essence," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said after Paulson and Bernanke briefed congressional leaders Thursday night.

Stocks on Wall Street shot up more than 400 points late Thursday on word that a plan was in the works. Fallout from the housing and credit debacles have badly bruised the economy and pushed unemployment to a five-year high.

"I don't say any prudent money manager would say we're out of the woods, but right in this moment it all seems positive and leading toward an upward move for the market going into Friday session," said Scott Fullman, director of derivative investment strategy for New York-based institutional broker WJB Capital Group.

Fullman said the biggest bonus of any potential government plan is that it is being put together to help the banking industry as a whole. Until now, the Treasury and Fed have selectively bailed out institutions that were the most vulnerable.

"This staves off Judgment Day," said Anthony Sabino, professor of law and business at St. John's University. "This is a detox for banks, and will help cleanse themselves of the bad mortgage securities, loans and everything else that has hurt them."

The roots of the current crisis can be traced to lax lending for home mortgages - especially subprime loans given to borrowers with tarnished credit - during the housing boom. Lenders and borrowers were counting on home prices to keep zooming upward. But when the housing market went bust, home prices plummeted. Foreclosures spiked as people were left owing more on their mortgage than their home was worth. Rising mortgage rates also clobbered some homeowners.

As financial companies racked up multibillion-dollar losses on soured mortgage investments, and credit problems spread globally, firms hoarded cash and clamped down on lending. That crimped consumer and business spending, dragging down the national economy - a vicious cycle policymakers have been trying to break.

"The root cause of the stress in the capital markets is the real estate correction," Paulson said, adding he hopes to have a solution "aimed right at the heart of this problem."

Bernanke said a resolution would help "get our economy moving again."

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, discounted the idea of setting up a new agency - similar to the Resolution Trust Corp. - established in 1989 to help resolve a savings and loan crisis at a cost to taxpayers of $125 billion.

"It will be the power - it may not be a new entity. It will be the power to buy up illiquid assets," Frank said. "There is this concern that if you had to wait to set up an entity, it could take too long."

The federal government already has pledged more than $600 billion in the past year to bail out, or help bail out, some of the biggest names in American finance. There was no immediate word on how much the new rescue plan might cost.

Paulson, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and other officials planned to work through the weekend on a solution.

The SEC imposed a temporary emergency ban on all short-selling, not just the aggressive forms it already has targeted.

The move, announced on the agency's Web site, may well be unprecedented and a reflection of regulators' concern about the widening scope of the financial crisis as entreaties come from all quarters to stem a swarm of short-selling.

In the announcement, the commission said it was acting in concert with the U.K. Financial Services Authority in taking emergency action to "prohibit short selling in financial companies" to protect the integrity of the securities market and boost investor confidence.

"The commission is committed to using every weapon in its arsenal to combat market manipulation that threatens investors and capital markets," Cox said in a statement. "The emergency order temporarily banning short-selling of financial stocks will restore equilibrium to markets."

For more than a year, investors around the world have watched with growing alarm as the U.S. economy, the world's largest, has struggled to right itself amid massive home foreclosures, many of them from mortgages issued to homeowners with bad credit.

The turmoil has swallowed some of the most storied names on Wall Street. Three of its five major investment banks - Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch - have either gone out of business or been driven into the arms of another bank.

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press, Jeannine Aversa and Julie Hirschfeld Davis. Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Marcy Gordon in Washington and Joe Bel Bruno in New York contributed to this report. All rights reserved.

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Near-term home sales to stay in narrow range

WASHINGTON – Sept. 10, 2008 – The level of home sales is expected to show little movement in the months ahead, according to the latest projections by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on contracts signed in July, fell 3.2 percent to 86.5 from an upwardly revised reading of 89.4 in June, which had risen 5.8 percent from May. The July index remains 6.8 percent below July 2007 when it stood at 92.8.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said home sales continue to edge up and down. “Pending home sales are oscillating month-to-month, with the long-term trend essentially flat,” he said. “Overly stringent lending criteria imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the past month no doubt held back contract signings.”

Even with the latest pullback, pending home sales have been fairly stable on a national basis for nearly a year, with dramatic local market differences continuing. “Contract signings have been steaming ahead, nearly doubling in activity from a year before in several California and Florida markets,” Yun said. “The outer Washington, D.C., exurbs also are coming around very strongly. The Northeast region retreated following a robust gain in the previous month, and soft activity was observed in the broad midsection of America despite very affordable conditions.”

The PHSI in the Midwest rose 2.8 percent to 81.6 in July but remains 2.4 percent below a year ago. In the South the index was unchanged, holding at 93.7, but is 13.4 percent below July 2007. The index in the Northeast fell 7.5 percent to 73.6 in July and is 13.2 percent below a year ago. In the West, the index dropped 10.6 percent to 90.3 but is 6.5 percent higher than July 2007.

NAR President Richard F. Gaylord said there’s been a surge in FHA mortgage applications. “Unfortunately, many people in high-cost areas aren’t familiar with FHA programs, which is why we produced a toolkit so Realtors, lenders, and other real estate professionals can familiarize themselves with this increasingly valuable program,” he said.

“FHA is taking a more active role in serving a broad cross section of home buyers, but it will take some time to fully get up to speed. We’re working with regulators to improve the process, and the good news is that this is becoming a big help to first-time buyers,” Gaylord said.

Yun said there are many ambiguities in the marketplace. “The economy is producing more, yet cutting jobs. A first-time home buyer tax credit and lower interest rates on newly conforming jumbo loans favors consumers, yet buyer confidence remains low,” he said. “Even with the Treasury Department’s direct intervention in the secondary mortgage market, it is unclear if we will go back to sound normal underwriting criteria, or if it will remain overly stringent. The housing market outlook is very cloudy.”

Yun mentioned that the speed and timing of a recovery depends on local market conditions. “Based on local market fundamentals, I expect robust home price growth in places like Denver and Houston over the next two years,” Yun said. “In addition, the frequent reporting of multiple bids in California and Florida may be signaling a bottom in home prices in these areas. Nationally, home sales are stable now but are expected to increase in coming quarters.”

Looking at middle-ground assumptions, existing-home sales are projected to total 5.01 million this year before rising 6.9 percent in 2009 to 5.35 million. After declining an average of 4 to 7 percent this year, home prices are forecast to rise by 2 to 4 percent next year.

New-home sales will total about 508,000 in 2008 and 463,000 next years, down significantly from 775,000 in 2007. With builders motivated to clear inventory, housing starts, including multifamily units, will probably fall 17.1 percent in 2009 to 801,000 units from 966,000 this year.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, which also has been moving up and down, should trend up to 6.6 percent by the end of this year, edging up to 6.7 percent in 2009. NAR’s housing affordability index is likely to remain favorable throughout 2008, averaging 13 percentage points higher than last year.

Growth in the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) is forecast to remain positive with a growth rate of 2.0 percent for all of 2008, and 2.0 percent also next year. The unemployment rate is estimated to average 5.8 percent over the coming year.

Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Price Index, is anticipated at 3.8 percent this year and 1.6 percent in 2009. Inflation-adjusted disposable personal income is projected to grow 1.8 percent in 2008 and 2.1 percent next year.

© 2008 FLORIDA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS

 

 

Autumn is a great time to buy

ORLANDO, Fla. – Sept. 10, 2008 – This fall could be a particularly great time for first-time buyers or those who have been out of the market for at least three years to jump in, say a variety of real estate professionals.

Here are the reasons why:

• Property prices are probably as low as they are going to go as the market stabilizes, thanks to the government takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

• Interest rates are likely to decline as Freddie and Fannie get government help.

• The Federal Housing Administration recently boosted its loan limits to $729,750 in expensive areas. It’s going to take some of that back on Jan. 1, 2009, when the loan limit shrinks to $625,500.

• The FHA allows down payments of as little as 3 percent, but that will rise to 3.5 percent as of Oct. 1. People scraping dollars together for a down payment should try to set their closing for the end of this month.

• The federal tax credit recently approved will shave $7,500 off a first-time buyer’s federal tax bill due April 15. Buyers who don’t owe tax will get the money as a refund. The government’s definition of a first-time buyer is anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the last three years.

Source: The Washington Post, Elizabeth Razzi (09/07/08)

© Copyright 2008 INFORMATION, INC. Bethesda, MD                (301) 215-4688        

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State Farm to refund $120 million to Florida policyholders

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Sept. 10, 2008 – State Farm will refund $120 million to policyholders and pay the state a $1 million fine to make up for discounts it should have provided for hurricane-resistant homes, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said Tuesday.

“I am very pleased that State Farm policyholders will now be getting the appropriate monetary credit for the important wind mitigation devices they put on their homes,” McCarty said in a statement. “Everything Florida consumers can do to reduce storm damage helps to keep property insurance costs down.”

State Farm, Florida’s largest private property insurer, conducted an internal review and agreed to issue credits or refunds to about 98,000 current and former policyholders. State Farm will identify policyholders eligible for the refunds within 30 days and issue the checks when policyholders are up for renewal or within one year for former policyholders.

“We found some inconsistencies in how we provide these discounts based on our review of the program ... and we notified OIR (Office of Insurance Regulation) of that,” State Farm spokesman Justin Glover said.

State regulators began investigating State Farm’s discount program in July. Last month, McCarty struck an agreement with Allstate requiring the company to pay a $5 million fine, reduce homeowner insurance premiums statewide by 5.6 percent, add 100,000 new homeowner policies within three years and forgive a $175 million loan to its Florida subsidiaries.

Florida law requires insurers to provide discounts for home features that fortify homes against hurricanes and to notify customers about the discounts when a policy is purchased or renewed.

Coral Springs resident Allan Serchay filed a lawsuit earlier this year in Broward County Circuit Court alleging that the company failed to provide the price breaks from 2003 to 2007. Serchay said he needs more information before deciding whether to drop the suit.

“I’m happy that State Farm is doing the right thing,” he said.

It’s unclear whether the agreement will impact State Farm’s proposed 47 percent statewide average rate increase, which the company said it needs in part to offset the money it lost because of discounts for hurricane-resistant homes. Glover said the company is reviewing its options.

McCarty – whose office has become more aggressive in investigating insurers after the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes when companies dropped hundreds of thousands of policies and doubled or tripled rates in some cases – is steadily clinching his image as a consumer watchdog.

Insurance industry representatives say the tone McCarty has set could scare insurers away from Florida.

Copyright © 2008 South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Julie Patel. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.