Somehow, it fell to the United States to censure an Israeli shipping company for doing business with Iran.
Shipping with the Enemy: An Israeli Company Deals with Iran
Tag Archives: loans
Forestalling Foreclosure
If you think subprime lenders are the loan sharks of real estate, then loan servicers–the outfits that collect mortgage money and run the books–are the enforcers. Their job is to keep the dough coming, no matter what.
Foreclosure Foul-up: Tracking Down Those ‘Lost’ Mortgages
Trevor Douglas, 54, may soon lose his Orlando house. Sure, Douglas hasn’t paid his mortgage in more than two years, which is what a Bank of America spokesperson tells me “is important to remember.” It is.
Stress Tests: Here to Stay?
Now that the bank stress tests are completed, is it time to plan another round? The government’s bank exams, the results of which were released last Thursday, seem to have calmed the market and paved the way for the nation’s largest financial firms to raise tens of billion of dollars. As a result, a number of academics and policy watchers are warming to the idea of making the stress tests permanent.
The Case for Letting AIG Fail
There’s an uproar about whether the government should let AIG fail, a debate re-energized by the latest revelation of bonus payments going to AIG’s executives. In fact, there’s a good case to be made that AIG should fail, and it has nothing to do with bonuses. The rescue of AIG is warping the banking system and unnecessarily extending the credit crisis.
Will a Mark-to-Market Fix Help Save the Banks?
To fix the banks, Washington needs to get toxic assets off their balance sheets. That’s easily said but not so easily done. One reason is an obscure accounting rule that is the subject of intense lobbying by representatives of the banking industry ahead of congressional hearings on Thursday on the matter
Puerto Rico’s governor says ‘government is bankrupt’
Puerto Rico’s Gov. Luis Fortuno on Tuesday outlined a plan that would cut spending by $2 billion per year and slash government payrolls by what could be more than 30,000 workers, or 10 percent of the government’s work force. “It’s up to us to confront the bitter reality that the government is bankrupt,” he said in a televised address
As Car Sales Collapse, GM and Chrysler Grow Desperate
Under pressure to demonstrate their viability in order to qualify for more government loans, General Motors and Chrysler couldn’t produce any additional evidence on Tuesday. If they were taking physical exams, they both would have flunked. As February sales were reported, GM owned up to selling 53% fewer cars and trucks than a year ago, while Chrysler admitted that its total fell 44%
China Goes on a Smart Shopping Spree
The world might be sinking into its worst recession in generations, but China is on a wild shopping spree. Sitting some $2 trillion of cash reserves, Beijing is taking advantage of the woes of others to cement its grip on new sources of commodities ranging from olive oil to crude oil —often at fire-sale prices. China’s growth rate may be slowing in concert with the world economy, but even at that slower rate, its economy continues to expand, requiring a steady increase in supplies of oil, copper, aluminum and other minerals.
Republicans, analysts question Obama’s foreclosure plan
Even before President Obama unveiled his home foreclosure plan Wednesday afternoon, some Republicans and political commentators questioned how exactly it would work to stave off a crisis plaguing the country. House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, along with Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, sent a letter Wednesday to the president “seeking clarification on six important questions about [Obama’s] broad housing proposal,” according to a press release from Cantor’s office.