Jan 17th 2012 10:00AM
WASHINGTON -- Ben Bernanke presided over his first meeting as Federal Reserve chairman in March 2006 believing that the nation's economy could pull off a "soft landing" from falling home prices. Three months later, Bernanke had begun to grasp that he and others had underestimated the risk that housing posed to the... Continue Reading »
Jan 5th 2012 1:30PM
Most of Washington's initiatives to staunch the flow of foreclosures glutting the housing market have been woefully inadequate. (We're looking at you, HAMP, HAFA and HARP). But a new idea put forth by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke might actually make a dent in the bank-owned backlog: Allow renters to move into... Continue Reading »
Apr 29th 2011 4:22PM
The housing market is one of two main factors hindering an economic recovery, Ben Bernanke told a luncheon audience in Arlington, Va., today. The Federal Reserve chairman said, "In some areas, for example, high foreclosure rates have produced significant numbers of vacant properties, depressing surrounding home prices,... Continue Reading »
Aug 17th 2010 5:05PM
The Federal Reserve has banned mortgage fees you probably weren't even aware of, but that were inflating your home-loan interest rate. On Monday, the Fed announced it was banning yield spread premiums, or YSPs. YSPs are essentially bonuses that lenders paid to mortgage brokers who steered them high-interest loans. The YSP... Continue Reading »
Jul 22nd 2010 4:57PM
On its face, it's a shocking headline -- but it's not quite what it seems. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation announced today that it would begin selling bonds backed by residential mortgages. If these sound a little too much like the kinds of financial instruments that cratered the economy in 2008, rest assured... Continue Reading »
