Foreclosures, near-North Minneapolis, Via Star-Tribune Foreclosure Map It’s getting hard to keep up with the now daily real-estate-is-going-to-hell in-handbasket data stream, but we wanted to point out a couple of stats from some of the recent coverage that had us pausing mid-read. For instance, from the Pioneer Press, on North Minneapolis, which as you can see from the map above, is Ground Zero for the Twin Cities foreclosure problem: In the Jordan area of North Minneapolis, banks are repossessing homes at a rate of about 200 per half-square mile — the highest rate in the Twin Cities And this, from the Strib, detailing an FBI raid of perhaps the biggest fraud-for-profit outfit yet: “The affidavit indicates that about 150 north Minneapolis properties foreclosed on in one six-month period earlier this year passed through TJ Waconia’s hands. That’s one in every five foreclosed properties in that area in that period,…” Just jaw-dropping stuff. More Trouble in Sight [Pioneer Press] FBI Names Two in Latest Mortgage Fraud Case [Strib] Update: Commenter John Hoff went all Columbo and posted at least a partial list of properties that passed through TJ Waconia and are now in foreclosure. Nice work there. One thing to keep in mind is that these properties aren’t by definition damaged goods - as always there is a market value for any property - its just that the history of values on these properties will have very tiny to do with reality, since they were inflated for fraudulent purposes. Of course, these fraudulent sales distort the market, because they become comparable (albeit inflated) sales for legitmate transactions. Because of the sheer volume of properties involved, it is highly likely that many legit buyers in north paid more than the true market value. This is where mortgage fraud hurts everybody. For more visit Source:www.behindthemortgage.com

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Perhaps the most useful and succinct description of the Sub-Prime ARM Freeze we’ve seen, from Calculated Risk: [Treasury Secretary] Paulson clearly defined the group of borrowers that are being targeted for modifications: Homeowners with “steady incomes and relatively clean payment histories who could afford the lower introductory mortgage rate but cannot afford the higher adjusted rate”. Whenever the freeze ends, most of the homeowners in the defined group will still face foreclosure. So the purpose of this plan is clear - since the industry lacks the infrastructure to handle the work load, this guideline helps decide which loans to foreclose on now, and which loans to foreclose on later. Emphasis ours. Sounding less like a rescue and “keeping the dream alive” and all that, isn’t it? For more visit Source:www.behindthemortgage.com

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Business Highlights
CNBC - WASHINGTON (AP) — Fannie Mae’s CEO told shareholders Friday he does not anticipate a housing market recovery until late 2009, “at the earliest,” and that the mortgage-finance company is strong enough to ride out the downturn. After posting a third

Micro-finance Boosts the Poor
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D.C. Official Accused in $20M Scheme
Philadelphia Inquirer - The audacious scheme has been an embarrassment for the city’s finance chief, Natwar Gandhi, who has been praised for helping to produce surpluses and strong bond ratings for Washington, a city that was headed toward insolvency in the 1990s after

Dollar’s slide adds to rise in energy, food prices
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Senate passes $286 billion farm bill expanding subsidies for growers
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U.S. Housing Crash Deepens in 2008 After Record Drop (Update2)
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Guilty Pleas in California Terror Case
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Woods takes Target lead with a 62
Miami Herald - Business Monday | National | International | Personal Finance | Technology | Small Business Food | Health | Home & Design | People | Travel | Style | By Sports Network The Sports Network One day after his double-bogey finish left him a shot off the first-round lead, Tiger

Rep. Dennis Kucinich
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Asian Currencies: Peso Climbs on Remittances; Korean Won Falls
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Personal Finance in Asia
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Graphic via MSNBC Last Week: Though the short week was fairly volatile, most conforming mortgage rates remained unchanged, and still hover at or near the low point for 2007. This Week: A very full economic calendar this week, with a number of reports that’ll give us a glimpse of the say of the economy and of inflation. As for inflation, The GDP chain deflator, and PCE (personal consumption expenditures) index, both key measures of inflation, print on Thursday and Friday, respectively. On the economic front, GDP, consumer confidence, existing and new home sales, and durable goods orders will give the market a lot to digest. Any signs of a weakening economy might help move mortgage rates lower - signs of economic strength, especially if they coincide with rising inflation will move rates up. This Week’s Economic Calendar [Barron’s] For more visit Source:www.behindthemortgage.com

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