BofA, MBIA Reach Settlement in Mortgage Dispute
Bank of America agrees to pay MBIA $1.6 billion to settle a dispute over soured mortgage securities issued during the U.S. housing boom.
mortgage crisis
Want a Comfortable Retirement? Move to Australia
Australia is not only the home of the koala, the kangaroo, and the duck-billed platypus, but may also be home to that other rare and exotic animal: the secure retirement.
Treasury Has Sold Its Last Shares of AIG (and Turned a Profit, Too)
The Treasury Department said Tuesday that it has sold all its remaining shares of AIG, wrapping up the government's biggest bailout of the financial crisis. With this sale, the government has received $22.7 billion more than the $182 billion in support it provided to AIG during the crisis.
Treasury Tightens Up Terms of Fannie and Freddie Bailout Deal
The government is changing the terms of its bailout agreement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a way that will shrink the holdings of the two mortgage giants more quickly and will require payment to the government of all quarterly profits the companies earn.
Oh, Canada! Americans' Northern Neighbors Are Now Richer
The U.S. may be the "land of opportunity," but Canadians are making out better. In the past five years, the net worth of Canadian households has surpassed that of their American counterparts for the first time. And the reasons why will be as depressing for Americans as the news itself.
Fannie Mae Earned a Profit in Q1, Says It Doesn't Need More Aid
Mortgage giant Fannie Mae says it made $2.7 billion in the first quarter, the first time it has had a net income gain since it was taken over by the government during the 2008 financial crisis.
Did Warren Buffett Make a Bad Call on Bank of America?
When Warren Buffett announced in August that he would spend $5 billion to snap up Bank of America shares, investors cheered. Surely this must mean that we've seen the end of the bad news from America's biggest bank, right? Wrong. So did the Oracle of Omaha blunder?
Home Ownership: American Dream or Nightmare?
Here's more evidence that the foreclosure crisis has changed the way we think about home ownership's place in the American dream. Nearly half of those polled in a newly released survey said that owning a home today was a "nightmare." But not all polls reflect such a pessimistic view.
Why Bank of America Will Never Be Great Again
Bank of America did the right thing this week, nixing its notorious $5 a month debit card fee before it began. But B of A can't win, and even now, financial journalists are wondering how it will find ways to nickel and dime its way back from this week's fee retreat at the expense of its customers.
The Financial Landscape: OPEC Quotas and 'Too Big to Fail'
The theme for Thursday is big players adjusting to a changing world: Citigroup is shutting down a major hedge fund it used for soon-to-be-banned proprietary trading, Goldman has been subpoenaed over its role in the subprime mortgage crisis, and OPEC is thinking that it might need to pump more oil.
Why Bank of America Sold Its BlackRock Stake
BlackRock, the world's largest publicly traded asset management firm, recently agreed to buy back Bank of America's remaining 7% stake in the company for about $2.5 billion. Trefis looks at why Bank of America is selling, what the buyback means for BlackRock, and what the effect will be for its stock.
Home Prices Fall to Pre-Bubble Levels
The drop in home values caused by the mortgage crisis has resulted in one positive outcome: Prices have fallen so far that home affordability is back to pre-housing-boom levels, reports Moody's Analytics. But a quarter of households with a mortgage are underwater on their loan.
Why the Supreme Court Should Review Hawaii's Foreclosures
Among the state systems governing foreclosure, Hawaii has a particularly fraud-riddled, draconian process. Elderly Suzanne Bonds was unbelievably exploited by that process in 2004, but Hawaii's courts refused to help. Now, her attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.
Lawyers' Carelessness Was Key to the Mortgage Mess
As multiple lawsuits and SEC actions progress in relation to the nation's mortgage mess, it's becoming clear that the misbehaviors of the lawyers involved at all stages were not isolated incidents: The misconduct was systemic, and it's time to start holding those lawyers accountable.