Nov 17th 2011 4:15PM
The federal government has shut down 85 alleged online loan modification scams, and secured the cooperation of Google to stop the purportedly false advertising by those web operations. The government agency responsible for supervising the use of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds recently targeted businesses that... Continue Reading »
Oct 7th 2011 4:40PM
Lori Macakanja, a former housing counselor in Dunkirk, N.Y., pleaded guilty this week to mail fraud and theft of government money meant for modifying delinquent mortgages. Some 136 clients of her company, HomeFront Inc., gave Macakanja a combined $300,000 for promised modifications. She used the money for her own use,... Continue Reading »
Dec 24th 2010 8:00AM
Looking back on 2010, the year in real estate was, in a word, terrible. Property values continued to fall, foreclosures rose, and even the lowest interest rates in 50 years seemed to have little positive effect on the property market. For U. S. real estate, 2010 was the year of failed government intervention where nothing... Continue Reading »
Sep 14th 2010 5:03PM
Gretchen Morgenson of The New York Times wrote a recent column advocating what she calls a "bold idea" for housing policy instead of the crash that many economists now appear to want. The main thrust of her column is that TARP and other attempts by the federal government have been bad ideas aimed more at keeping big banks... Continue Reading »
Apr 8th 2010 2:40PM
We're good guys, really! Goldman Sachs, the publicly vilified former investment bank famously nicknamed a "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity" by Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi for the way its seemingly wraps its tentacles around every far flung money-making opportunity, issued a defense in its annual... Continue Reading »
