Archive for October, 2007

Many of these foreclosures could be prevented if the mortgage companies actually tried working with their borrowers.

Foreclosure filings across the U.S. nearly doubled last month compared with September 2006, as financially strapped homeowners already behind on mortgage payments defaulted on their loans or came closer to losing their homes to foreclosure, a real estate information company said Thursday.

A total of 223,538 foreclosure filings were reported in September, up from 112,210 in the same month a year ago, according to Irvine-based RealtyTrac Inc.

The number of filings in September was down 8 percent from August’s 243,947, the firm said.

Despite the sequential decline, the September figure represents the second-highest total for filings in a single month since the company began tracking monthly filings two years ago.

I know for a fact that one of the country’s largest mortgage lenders balked at every attempt a homeowner made for assistance, which ended up in the homeowner just walking away from the house.

While it’s sad that the homeowner found themself in that position, I think it’s more sad that the mortgage company chose to take nothing over something. With the housing market in the skids the house is now worth just 3/4 of the mortgage value, it would have made more sense if the powers that be at the mortgage company actually stepped down from their pedestals and extended a hand of support to the homeowner. It would have been beneficial to both parties.

This morning…

Some 37,000 workers represented by the United Auto Workers union walked out on strike against Chrysler LLC on Wednesday, shuttering all but five of its U.S. plants in the first strike against the automaker in a decade.

The strike marked the second work stoppage called by the UAW in as many weeks against an American automaker and came after contract talks broke down over the issues of job security and cost-cutting.

This afternoon…

Chrysler LLC and the United Auto Workers union reached a tentative labor agreement on Wednesday, ending a strike against the No. 3 U.S. automaker just over six hours after it began.

The UAW said in a statement it was calling off the strike by some 37,000 workers at 20 of 25 Chrysler plants in the United States, effective immediately. The union said the tentative agreement would protect wages, pensions and health care for UAW-represented Chrysler workers and retirees.

Both sides said the tentative agreement included establishing a trust fund that would take over responsibility for retiree health care.

That was worth everyone’s time wasn’t it? I guess they proved their point, because we all know that Chrysler never would have agreed to the settlement if the UAW hadn’t walked off the job for six hours.

Oh great. Now I can’t prove that the market reacts when Greenspan opens his mouth because they released the minutes from the Fed meeting too.

Wall Street advanced sharply Tuesday as investors interpreted minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting as indicating the central bank is ready to keep cutting interest rates to boost the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index reached new record highs.

The minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s Sept. 18 meeting, when Fed governors voted unanimously for a half-point cut, also showed that officials were concerned that the weakness in the dollar could lead to higher inflation. But the Fed — signaling it is more willing to intervene — also said the economic outlook was uncertain because of the summer’s credit crisis, and that there were still risks to growth that justified lower rates.

I guess I’ll have to wait for the next time he opens his mouth, which of course won’t be too long.

While Interstate Bakeries may be having problems getting people to buy enough Twinkies and Wonder Bread, it seems Yum Foods has had no problem getting people to eat at KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut.

Restaurant operator Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N) reported a higher-than-expected 17 percent rise in quarterly earnings on strong China results and boosted its full-year outlook on Monday. Its shares rose more than 3 percent in extended trading.

The parent of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell chains also said it would step up share repurchases by buying back up to $4 billion of stock over the next two years, reducing its share count by up to 20 percent, and would increase debt.

Third-quarter net income rose to $270 million, or 50 cents per share, up 17 percent from $230 million, or 42 cents per share, a year ago.

I wonder if my sister, who is moving to Louisville, Kentucky knows that the parent company of her all time favorite, Taco Bell, is based there? Hmm…

Alan Greenspan is a very smart man, but you’d think he would just stop talking and enjoy his retirement. How much you wanna bet that the markets start up tomorrow because he opened his mouth again?

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said on Sunday that the rate of U.S. economic growth was slowing, but the odds of a recession are less than 50 percent.

Greenspan also said in an interview on CNN’s “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer” that the turmoil caused by the subprime mortgage crisis was easing and financial markets were beginning to go back to normal.

Greenspan said Americans should be “cautious” about the economy, but not necessarily nervous.

“I think the best way of putting it is that the American economy’s rate of growth is definitely slowing down,” Greenspan said, adding that the odds of a recession are less than 50/50.

Then again, maybe no one is listening to Mr. Bernanke yet…

Negotiators with the United Auto Workers union and Chrysler LLC remained at the bargaining table Saturday evening as efforts to reach a tentative contract agreement intensified, a person briefed on the talks said.

The person, who requested anonymity because the talks are private, said they are expected to run through the weekend.

The UAW reached a tentative agreement with General Motors Corp. on Sept. 26, but the agreement must be ratified by a majority of GM’s UAW members to take effect. Members began voting last week and are expected to wrap up votes by Wednesday.

The UAW didn’t announce which automaker it would negotiate with next, but the person briefed on the talks said the UAW selected Chrysler as its next bargaining target and would turn to Ford last.

Did you catch that? “The UAW selected Chrysler as its next bargaining target“. When I hear statements like that, it’s hard to imagine the UAW actually wants to negotiate. It seems to me they have a plan of attack, going after one automaker at a time, because God forbid they negotiate a contract that would work for everyone. Oh that’s right, they don’t negotiate, they seek, they hunt, they target. That’s the unionized American way.

They certainly didn’t make any money from me this quarter. I finally ditched my Blackberry and went with a T-Mobile Wing because I was sick of the scrollwheels dying on the Blackberry devices I used.

Smart phone maker Research In Motion Ltd. beat expectations on Thursday and predicted strong results for the rest of the year after breaking past the 10-million subscriber mark.

The Canadian company said its fiscal second-quarter profit and revenue more than doubled, boosted by strong sales of its flagship BlackBerry products.

For the quarter ended Sept. 1, the company earned $287.7 million, or 50 cents per share, up from $140.2 million, or 25 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue more than doubled to $1.37 billion from $658.5 million.

I wonder how many of those sales were from people who needed to stay connected and had to replace the whole unit because the scrollwheel was busted.

Last week, investors made it clear that the worst was over. They should tell that to the 16,000 additional people out of work this week.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless aid rose by 16,000 last week, the government said on Thursday.

Initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits jumped to 317,000 in the week ended September 29 from an upwardly revised 301,000 the prior week, the Labor Department said.

The new claims figures exceeded Wall Street economists’ forecasts for rise to 310,000 in new jobless claims from the preliminary reading of 298,000 in the week ended September 22.

Of course, it could be much worse, right?

How, exactly, do you go bankrupt when you make Twinkies? And why do companies still lend you money when you’re still in the midst of said bankruptcy? That just doesn’t make sense.

Interstate Bakeries Corp (IBCIQ.PK), the bankrupt maker of Wonder Bread and Twinkies snacks, said on Wednesday its lenders reduced the amount the company can borrow as it struggles to stay in business.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Kansas City-based maker of bakery and sweet snack items, said an amendment made to its debtor-in-possession financing agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank and other financial institutions cut the amount the company could borrow by $10 million.

[Source: Reuters via Yahoo! News]

Last week, investors made it clear they thought the trouble with the housing market wasn’t going to get much worse. Today, not so much.

Pending sales of previously owned homes fell a surprising 6.5 percent in August as buyers struggled to get loans, indicating the dire housing market could worsen, according to an industry report released on Tuesday.

The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index fell to a reading of 85.5, the lowest since records began being kept in January 2001.

The previous low for the index of a month’s signed contracts was 89.8 in September 2001, in wake of the attacks on New York and Washington.

While this article goes out of its way to convince us that more trouble is on the horizon, perhaps this is just residual fall out?