Judge Orders Countrywide To Talk
When I saw this article, I had to read it twice. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. A judge, in California, is actually holding someone accountable for their actions and making them answer for what they have done? Did the world start spinning backwards or something?
Directors and officers of mortgage lender Countrywide Financial (CFC.N) must answer shareholder accusations of insider trading and failure to monitor lending practices that led to the company’s collapse, a federal judge in California has ruled, the New York Times reported.
The New York Times said on Wednesday that Judge Mariana Pfaelzer of U.S. District Court in Los Angeles rejected arguments made for Countrywide executives and directors that they were unaware of lax loan operations that led to ballooning defaults.
Countrywide had “red flags” for months if not a couple years before the mortgage industry balloon popped. I just can’t believe that judge is going to make them answer questions about what they knew and why they ingored those flags.
Wow.
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He Said - He Said - Huh?
Talk about contradictory positions…
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said U.S. financial markets are emerging from the credit crunch that many economists believe has pushed the country to the brink of recession, according to The Wall Street Journal.
“I do believe that the worst is likely to be behind us,” Paulson told the newspaper in an interview.
The brink of recession? Warren Buffett says we are already there.
Warren Buffett, the world’s richest person, said on Sunday the U.S. economy is in recession, “as I define it.”
Buffett’s comment was at odds with a U.S. Commerce Department report last week showing the economy grew at a 0.6 percent annualized rate in the first quarter.
So, who do we believe? Yeah, that’s what I thought. I have no idea either.
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Sphere: Related ContentTime To Change The Paperwork
It’s about time. While I am one of the few people who actually took the time to read through all of the paperwork I was signing, much to the chagrin of the other people at closing, I for one think this is an idea that is well past it’s time.
The papers that U.S. borrowers sign when buying a house are piled so high that few people read them all, and even fewer absorb the information.
While no one blames the subprime crisis on complex documentation, some people now losing their homes as adjustable rate mortgages rise might not be in such dire straits if they had fully understood their loan, experts say.
These critics of the current documents say it is time to require home mortgage lenders to prepare a short, plain-English summary of each loan so consumers actually know what they are signing. Many in the housing industry agree.
Now if they could just get the truth-in-lending statement to be a bit more truthful we’d all be set, wouldn’t we?
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Sphere: Related ContentSears Needs Help With Their Image
Word has it that Sears Holdings Corp. is making some changes so they can revitalize the company to help them compete against such stores as Wal-Mart.
While I am no longer a fan of Wal-Mart, I can’t stand Sears. I don’t like their stores. I don’t like their sales staff. Unless they change the whole atmosphere when you walk into a Sears store, there is no hope.
Sears Holdings Corp. plans to reorganize into several companies in another bid to pull the ailing 121-year-old retailer out the doldrums, according to a report published Saturday.
The restructuring could create separate units to manage Sears real-estate holdings and run brands such as Diehard and Craftsman, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Honestly, when was the last time you were in a Sears store? Did you enjoy the experience? Was the staff friendly and courteous or were they acting like pompous idiots that had no time to deal with you?
Will separating their brands into separate “units” really help matters much? Only time will tell, I suppose. I think they need to work on their image more than their management units, but that’s just me.
Delta Wants To Merge
I have talked to a few people over the course of the past couple weeks that thought a Delta merger was in the works. Don’t you love how company execs will deny the undeniable right up to the last moment. We wouldn’t want to steal their thunder, would we?
Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N) has started merger talks with both Northwest Airlines Corp (NWA.N) and United Airlines parent UAL Corp (UAUA.O), and hopes to reach an agreement with one of them over the next two weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
The report, citing unnamed people familiar with the situation, said Delta’s board gave Chief Executive Richard Anderson permission last Friday to hold talks with both carriers simultaneously.
Delta aims to present a preferred partner when Delta’s board next meet in early February, with a deal announcement coming as early as mid-February, the paper reported.
I think a deal with Northwest is more likely, given the current conditions, but I also think that the moment a Delta/Northwest deal is announced that United will announce they are in talks with Continental or some other airline. It seems they all think that the only way to compete is to combine.
Sphere: Related ContentTony Blair Sets Up House At JPMorgan Chase
Whoa, talk about kooky. What kind of background does Tony Blair have? I need to check.
Wikipedia says that he has a background in law, so that may be the reason he is qualified to be a “senior advisor” at JPMorgan Chase. Hey, he might want to tell them not to lend money to people who can’t pay it back. Just saying.
Former British prime minister Tony Blair is expected on Thursday to join U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase & Co Inc (JPM.N) as a senior adviser, according to a person familiar with the situation.
JPMorgan declined to comment. The Financial Times in London first reported the move on its Web site, saying it would be the first of a series positions Blair expects to take in the private sector.
I think this one is an odd fit, because he has a history in law, then politics, and no finance experience. One might argue that, as Prime Minister, he gained knowledge over the years, but who knows. Good luck on your new endeavor, Tony.
Dow Hits Record High
It seems today was a very good day on Wall Street.
U.S. stocks surged on Thursday, with the Dow hitting a record on its biggest point gain since 2002, after healthy retail sales reassured investors about consumer spending and a $38 billion mining takeover fed expectations for more deals.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index also closed at a new record and is now less than 6 points from its lifetime high. The Nasdaq rose to its highest in about six-and-a-half years.
Isn’t it funny though?
When large retailers like Wal-Mart say something positive the markets always respond in kind. The market also hinges on every word that comes out of the mouth of the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
It makes me wonder how many times someone says something that isn’t true, just to see what the market does.
Delta Loses Money, Yet Progresses
Where else on Earth can you lose $88 million in one month, and state your “recovery is progressing”.
Delta Air Lines, operating under bankrupty protection, reports today that it narrowed its loss in October to 88 (m) million dollars.
The Atlanta-based carrier is the nation’s third largest. It says its loss in the 31-day period commpares to a loss of 301 (m) million dollars for the same month last year.
Excluding reorganization items, Delta says its loss in October was 64 (m) million dollars.
It’s good that they have $2.7 billion on cash on hand, because now they are calling some of their pilots back to work.
Delta Air Lines says it’s bringing back another wave of idled employees — this time 200 pilots — as its recovery plan proceeds despite a takeover attempt by US Airways.
Delta, which has also recently announced recalls of hundreds of flight attendants, mechanics and other employees in coming months, said Wednesday it plans to gradually call the pilots back to training classes starting in January.
This is all well and good, but if they keep losing $88 million per month, they only have 31 months left. They better start turning a profit, like quick.
Federal Jury Begins Enron Deliberations
A federal jury Wednesday began deliberating the fate of former Enron Corp. chiefs Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, accused of lying to investors and employees before the collapse of the Houston-based energy giant in one of the biggest corporate scandals ever.
Jurors got the blockbuster fraud and conspiracy case after two-and-a-half days of closing arguments from prosecutors and defense lawyers and after more than 14 weeks of testimony. They are deciding 28 criminal counts against Skilling, Enron’s former chief executive, and six against Lay, the company founder. Both face long prison terms if convicted.
With everything else happening in the news, the mainstream media hasn’t focused too much on this case.
Let’s hope they throw the book at them.
[Source: Yahoo! News]
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