"SIGN, BABY, SIGN" -- BANKSTER'S FORECLOSURE FRENZY
The "big fish" should be prosecuted but so should Mr. Doan and other robo-signers.
The robo-signers were signing documents that the courts relied upon in granting foreclosure relief.
As I understand it, the documents made representations as to what the signer reviewed and told the reader (the court) that all the "ducks were in a row" for the foreclosure to occur (e.g. the borrower had defaulted, the loans documents were properly executed, etc.).
In cases where the facts were not as the robo-signer represented them to be, real harm was caused for real people and that harm was a direct result of the robo-signer's action (which was essentially like giving false testimony before a court). The robo-signer should be held responsible as also should the "big fish."
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Tom Doan, robo-Signer for Band of America "I had no idea what I was signing."
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Sorry . . . if the banks don't produce the legally recorded documents then they can claim all sorts of arbitrary facts as being your "legal" obligations. It's not just about the people who were irresponsible when they took out the loans.
The banks are erasing the equivalent of 400 years of precedent in property law that derived from England, was carried through the Age of Enlightenment in Locke's Treatise on Property into our Declaration, as the "pursuit of happiness" . . . not property.
The historical importance of Americans' right to owning a "homestead" is based upon a period when the government granted its citizens such a property right in return for moving westward. It is considered sacrosanct under the federal and state laws that regulate a debtor's right to retain a certain portion of it after bankruptcy.
If you still don't get why it's important to make the lenders produce the mandatory legal evidence that they have the right to foreclose maybe you'll feel differently after having paid off your mortgage over 30 years, and then they tell you they have no proof that you satisfied your financial & legal obligations because of problems with the paperwork! Good luck if you don't think that this will have some major impact on you or someone about whom you care at a future date! If the banks get away with this one then their next coup will be to take your property after you have pay for it.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Tom Doan, robo-Signer for Bank of America : "I had no idea what I was signing."
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Well folks, that is why the mortgage process has the requirement for "title insurance". What these banks are doing is signing "affidavits" claiming title to property which they don't clearly have the signatory documents to support. So they get some flunkie to "perjure" themselves before the court maintaining that the paperwork is all in order.
There are rules in place that specifically address this, but the Treasury Dept. is trying to convince the courts that those rules don't apply in this case, which is why Mr. Obama has decided to back the banks.
Its a hard thing to back someone who has defaulted on their mortgage and is months behind in their payments, but the criminality of the banks should not be overlooked. Every mortgage holder in America should contact their title insurance company as to the "legitimate" status of their mortgage. That is 'exactly' why the rules required them to purchase that insurance, and the banks are now caught in a 'chain of custody' dispute.
Every foreclosure should be challenged, and some think that would just tie up the courts, but the homeowners didn't create the housing bubble and crisis, nor did they break the law, and it is the banks who are now trying to throw themselves on the 'mercy of the court', backed by a president and Treasury Dept. that have backed the banks over the people at every turn. FORECLOSURE = SEE YOU IN COURT!
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Tom Doan, robo-Signer for Bank of America: "I had no idea what I was signing."
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The "robo-signing" is just the tip of the iceberg committed by the banks in an attempt to cover up all the fraud around mortgages during the housing boom.
I lived in Phoenix at the peak in 2005-2006 and the banks would lend to anyone whether they were qualified buyers or not to drive the market higher. For new houses builders would advertise 3 mortgages, the primary and then second and possibly a third to make the down payment requirements on the first. They knew the buyers were not qualified and banks lent the money like it was printed from thin air. Near the end they would actually kick back cash and/or cars and other gifts just to keep the prices high. I saw several houses asking at or above 800K promise anywhere from 100K to 300K to the buyer on closing.
The first house I rented when I moved to Phoenix, the owner was asking $450K. I rented it for $1500 a month and was the first person to ever occupy it. It was new construction and had been vacant for over 6 months. This guy had four other new houses in the community he owned and did not occupy any of them. When I moved a year later some of these and others were still vacant since being constructed up to 2 years earlier. Anybody that bought a house in this community between late 2004 and 2006 is now upside down anywhere from 100K to 200K.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Tom Doan, robo-Signer for Bank of America: "I had no idea what I was signing."
FORD SHINES WITH RECORD PROFIT
This is great news. I happen to really like what they did with the new Mustang.
I have a friend who just loves a particular high dollar FOREIGN performance car. Reality is, he will not be able to afford it. Now if he really wanted the car for its "performance", you would think he would buy the closest Rear Wheel Drive high-performance car that he can afford, which is the Mustang. However he is brainwashed by trends and he instead is buying some foreign car for the same 30 grand that is the performance equivalent of a Yugo. Why? well ... just because it is foreign. This tells me he is not a true enthusiast, and only lusts after the foreign high dollar performance car, just as a status symbol. I bet if you switched brand nameplates his choices would switch too.
Hopefully America will realize, that the whole concept of foreign being always 'better' is just a myth. For example, on JD Powers 2009 survey Mercedes & BMW have more defects per 100 cars than believe it or not even Chrysler. Yet everyone would never think that.
Read the article CNN MONEY/Ford posts record profit
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Neither GM nor FIAT-Chrysler are zombie car companies. Both are independent conglomerates which will also make profits this year. GM has already effected repayments, Chrysler will begin soon, and both are planning share issues next year in moves designed to reduce and eliminate the government's stake.
Ford has done well, and deserve merit and profits for their hard work. But what professional manager - and not a Ford family member - would have had the authority, in any industrial concern, to put the entire shop in hock to the banks for $26 billion and still survive a boardroom challenge? That was an immensely risky move which no big company has ever done before to my knowledge. Nor is it a move any management school would normally endorse. Only the authority and prestige of Bill Ford made such a move possible.
Read the article DETROIT FREE PRESS/Ford's third-quarter profit: $1.69 billion
Outstanding results from an outstanding Company. And it should only get better in the months and years ahead!!
Right! The US economy is just coming out of a recession and we have over 10% national unemployment and Ford is turning out profits in THIS economy when national auto sales are way below what they used to be? This is incredible. Can you imagine the profits that Ford will be capable of generating when the US economy gets back on its feet and people get jobs again?
There is growth potential for Ford that I Wall Street and the US Public has not even recognized yet. I read in a recent article that Ford has fewer than 200 hourly employees remaining on layoff. This is terrific news. However, many hourly employees accepted the billions of dollars of buy out bonuses and retired with benefits as Ford has closed over a dozen facilities as part of its turnaround.
The billions paid in buyout bonuses are unprecedented in American business history.
Read the article DETROIT FREE PRESS/Ford's third-quarter profit: $1.69 billion
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Ford, in order to smoke their competition needs to enhance their star
products: the F-150, the Mustang, the Lincoln and Mercury lines.
Yes, keep Mercury as a luxury auto line!
Ford also should introduce more diesel engines into its product lines
including sedans! Diesels are offered in Asia and European markets
because the distinguished consumer knows something good when it
is offered to them. Give us the Diesel choice and don't choose for us.
Diesels are good for the economy; they run smoother, longer and
stronger. Diesel engines need less refining technology which saves
resources. Diesels can be converted over to burn Bio-Fuels easier
such as with vegetable \ organic based fuel. A long-lasting engine
inside a shell will also provide Ford much needed customer loyalty
for the already jaundiced American auto consumer. MARKET WATCH/Ford's quarterly profit increases by 71%
PRESCRIPTION FOR PROFIT? -- DOCTORS ON BIG PHARMA PAYROLLS
PROPUBLICA DATA BASE
Most of the ills and benefits of the pharmaceutical industry can be ascribed to simple economic motivations.
The idea that a free pen alters a physician’s prescribing practices seems ridiculous and no doctor believes that it affects them. Yet, there are still thousands of drug pens all over many hospital and doctor’s offices. Why would for-profit pharmaceutical companies spend literally millions of dollars for decades on advertising that doesn’t work? Of course it works.
Similarly, the talks that doctors give are designed, in part, to educate, but also to increase sales of the sponsoring product. I have given one drug sponsored speech in my life. It was paid for by one drug company and attended by a representative of their chief competitor. I gave a fair and balanced talk regarding the benefits of both agents as well as others of the same class. I never heard back from the two representatives and have never been asked to speak for either company again. Could be because I didn’t use any of the supplied slides that represented the drug companies views. I am OK with never giving another talk.
I agree that CME through medical professional societies are less influenced and a reasonable compromise as it allows the pharmaceutical industry to promote education and research without such a biased and aggressive and, frankly embarrassing system as now exists. I do agree, however, that even our professional societies are in large measure heavily influenced by industry. Most of the directors and governing board are heavily subsidized by industry. You just never see a really good clinician on the boards.
At the end of the day, the real question about American medicine is: Is it about profits, research, teaching and patient care (the last three replicates the University of Iowa’s logo), or is it about patient care, teaching, research and profits (the first three should be the university of Iowa’s logo). Its not about the concepts, its about the emphasis. I’d work for less than I make now, but not a lot less.
Doctors are the last profession in the US. When they become de facto whores for big money industries, they will join lawyers as the butt of bad jokes, rather practitioners of a high art.
Read the article PROPUBLICA/Doctors on Pharma payroll have blemished records, limited credentials
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I am unimpressed with all the outrage and the lack of substance with this report. Doctors are hired by pharmaceutical companies to do their marketing, as are nurses, as well as lay people. There is no merit requirement to do this, so it should not be surprising that there will be at least a few bad apples in the group. In fact, since bad doctors presumably have more difficulty finding clinical work, we should expect them to be more eager for alternative income sources.
The real outrage should be direct-to-consumer advertising by pharmaceutical companies. That practice leads to increased patient demand for a drug without medical basis. At least doctors have a clue whether the drug is effective, or has an alternative.
If NPR or its listeners are outraged by pharmaceutical profits, just buy generic every time. Your health will be intact, you'll save money, and pharmaceutical profits will come crashing down.
If doctors' incomes are bothering you, the best things you can do are to abstain from smoking and stop eating processed food.
Take some responsibility for your health!
Read the article NPR/Drug companies hire troubled doctors as experts
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I think it's clear, the lack of transparency is the real issue here.
Given an opportunity to operate in the dark, or given leeway to obfuscate rules, regulations, scruples, etc...
If it benefits their bottom line in some way, most businesses will try to shade things in their favor. It's business instinct. It's human instinct.
And the elegant solution isn't some mandated government reporting system where massive amounts of paperwork need to work their way through some government bureaucracy and red tape.
But, simply require the RX industry to "put it out there" for all to see. Have them list their "experts" on a company website. They can only then assume SOMEONE is going to look up their backgrounds, and in turn only hire those "experts" with sterling reputations.
Thus promoting TRUE "Self-Regulation".
Read the article NPR/Drug companies hire troubled doctors as experts
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Though I usually favor the type of reporting I hear on NPR, this report on "Dollars for Docs" is quite disturbing- but not in the way the author or NPR intended.
To the casual and uninformed listener, this report would imply that all physicians that do promotional talks for a drug company are inherently bad physicians. This could not be further from the truth.
Most physicians who are asked to do these talks are the thought leaders in their given specialty of medicine and highly respected in the medical community. Physicians who give promotional talks for Pharma generally are asked to do so as they are already using the product frequently. It is rare that a physician would not be using a product prior to being asked to do promotional talks.
There is no question that the "education" in these talks is less that would be obtained in a CME lecture, but the information dispensed by these physicians is more in depth and balanced than that presented by a pharmaceutical representative. It should be made clear that no physician is being paid to use these drugs- all will use the product that is best for the patient despite the physicians relationship with industry. As a physician that gives these talks, I am offended by this report.
Read the article NPR/Drug companies hire troubled doctors as experts
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I really hope many of you who comment on this article have health problems in the near future. And when you ask your doctor why he was not more educated-- remember this article.
Pharma companies main goal is to provide medications to aid in a patients recovery from an illness/disorder. There are many new medications out in the market place that ARE FAR SUPERIOR to the most commonly prescribed medications but patients don't get these medications because 1)MD's for the most part are highly uneducated post medical school about latest practices 2)those MD's do not see reps and thus stick with the old tried and true!
So again- for those of you on heart meds, depressed, cancer, etc... I hope you like this article, and I also hope you are on the wrong medication because your doctor does not want a $7 lunch to become more educated about his damn job....
Read the article CHICAGO TRIBUNE/Doctors drawn payment from drug companies
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I looked up my neurologist and he is on the list. I know that he thinks very highly of the drug companies, and it has made me very skeptical of any drug he presents to me as a migraine preventative.
I have been hospitalized 4 times due to drug reactions to drugs he has prescribed for me, causing me to not take any drugs for my severe, chronic migraines as I no longer trust the drugs that come out. They seem to do more harm than good these days, being pulled left and right off the market because of severe effects causing problems up to and including death!
I no longer trust this Doctor to have my best interests at heart. It makes me very sad, as I was one of his first patients when he started his practice. He has also lost his privileges to practice at either of two hospitals in his town. I really appreciate this report.
Read the article PROPUBLICA/Dollars for Docs
MORTGAGE DOCUMENT MESS DEEPENS MIASMA
I can't believe that there are people stupid enough here to be saying they're glad that foreclosures are happening. Okay, we get it. You have convinced yourself that the recession won't affect you and that these irresponsible people deserve to be foreclosed out of their homes. For those of you who have this every man for himself mentality, how about you pull your heads out of where they're presently stuck and consider this:
Foreclosures affect you. Your home's fair market value depends upon what other homes in your area are being sold for. When the house across town that looks exactly like yours is sold back to the bank for $100,000, guess what your house is now worth: $100,000. You may owe $250,000 on your home, but an investor can buy the exact same thing for $100,000, so you're wrong if you think your home is worth what you paid for it.
You want to move to a better home? Say goodbye to the equity you thought you had. You want to retire and move to Florida or someplace else warm and sunny? Forget about that nest egg that was your house.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Foreclosures hit record in September, 100,000 houses seized
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As a point of contrast, my parent's mortgage:
Ten percent down, 30 year fixed, with the mortgage being held by the bank that gave the mortgage for the entire term of the mortgage.
The profits from the mortgage went to back into the community in the form of other mortgages and investment in the local community.
Read the article HUFFINGTON POST/Foreclosures hit record in September, 100,000 houses seized
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Here are a few rebuttal points that I have not seen thus far:
"You should have 20% plus down payment before buying a home".
True, but home values/prices HAVE to fall for this to be possible. The prices of homes have soared compared to wages. Folks are struggling to stay afloat (the prices of everything has sky-rocketed, while the value of the dollar has fallen). Before you get judgmental on this point, sit down and do the math for what a 100k home (which is considered cheap these days) would cost you if you are making 15$ an hour.
"What good is an empty house?"
A lot, if you are the bank. They can foreclose, drop the price, and quickly sell the property. This gets them out from underneath the bad debt and provides immediate capital on their books. We all know the banks aren't held accountable for the debt anyhow (See the bank bailout).
Housing prices must fall for any sort of market correction to take place. The banks are obviously not going to find this amicable as they are the losers. Their solution, quickly foreclose on as many folks as possible to circumvent the "paperwork woes" and sell the homes off as a liquidation measure.
Read the article CNN/Foreclosure auctions hit record as document crisis unfolds
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I received a foreclosure notice in July. My home was set for sale Sept 20, 2010. I was seven months past due. Like, many I lost my job the year before, but my story current situation is not a tragedy.
You see 14 years ago, I was homeless. I came to Texas with two little girls, $124 and a dream. That dream was to stand on my own two feet, to be my own woman. In those 14 years I got my degree,worked, saved, raised my family and brought my home. No foolish sub-prime junk, just a straight 30yr fix.
When this happened to me, I did what I do best. I worked harder. By the grace of God I raised enough money to make three payment by the end of July.
I met with the bank, and one of their reps helped me apply for a loan mod. The loan mod application stopped the foreclosure for now.
This experience has taught me one thing. Politics be damned. This is real life. Real people cared enough to help me stop the sale of my home. Real people gave me a part-time job. Real people are on the other line when, I need extra time to make a payment. And a real person will hire me in my industry.
This time in our country is sink or swim time. Those of us unemployed or underemployed, I say keep kicking for the surface. Those of you that are employed count your blessing. Then when can give you fellow human a hand up. Post a job opening not an insult. Give advice on how to stretch meals, apply for a loan mod, or DIY car repair. Not your opinion about something you are fortunate enough not to be experiencing. God, please bless America (we need it).
Read the article CNN/Foreclosure auctions hit record as document crisis unfolds
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This foreclosure document mess is the result of Lawyers finding loopholes to keep deadbeat homeowners from being evicted and the bleeding heart liberals feeling sorry for people who cannot afford to pay their mortgages.
If 1 in 5 borrowers are now delinquent, if foreclosures were inevitable, the number would likely drop to 1 in 6 as borrowers who can pay their mortgages but are not because they are hoping for loan modifications will begin paying.
The solution to the housing bubble is to foreclose on every homeowner that is delinquent and let the market determine the true fair market value. Only after we reach the true bottom can we recover. And Government programs are delaying that point.
Read the article WALLSTREETJOURNAL/Foreclosure mess battering markets
WALL STREET'S PAY: $140 BILLION BONANZA
We cant blame the Wall St. people for taking the money, they are doing what most Americans do, stuff as much cash in their pockets as possible. If you want to complain, blame the politicians who stuff their pockets with "campaign donations" from Wall St. and then make sure that nothing happens to prevent them from getting even richer. Its a case of the chicken farmer being paid off by the fox to let him eat more and more chickens.
And we are the chickens! Congress is in charge of "regulating Wall St. but has been totally ineffective. In fact, over the last 40 years they have been knocking down the regulations passed in the 1930's that protected us from predatory bankers.
Average Americans are not interested in all this regulation stuff, they want to sit back, have a beer, and watch more stupid TV programs. Americans know all about football and Desperate Housewives than they do about their own representative.
Ask one about what happens in congress and they change the subject. Unless and until we find a way to stop Wall St. from buying politicians with campaign money, they will continue to enjoy eating us chickens.
Read the article ABC NEWS/Wall Street pay hits record high -- What's your views
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Let's see: borrow at zero from the Fed, plow that money into Treasuries (wow! what a great risk free spread), stop lending, commit fraud by failing to perfect millions of mortgages (to save money), sell flawed securities to unwitting investors, use "boot to the neck" tactics to stop various accounting rules from marking loan book to market (lets mark at 99 instead of 45, yeah, that's the ticket), generate huge bonuses financed by the largess of the american taxpayer. Gee, can't see why people would be upset.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Wall Street Pay: A record $140 billion
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These banks have received billions if not trillions of dollars at taxpayers' expense: low cost money from the fed, bond guarantees, asset guarantees, implied guarantees, TARP at substantially below market rates (look at what Buffett got for putting money into Goldman), 100 cents on the dollar from AIG thanks to the Fed bailout at around $150 billion, asset purchases 50% above market value, relaxation of mark to market etc., etc.
Since these banks wouldn't even exist if not for capital from the U.S. government, why doesn't all of the upside belong to the treasury? Perhaps because folks who orchestrated the bailout are either corrupt or incompetent, or some combination of the two?
If the banks can afford to pay these kinds of bonuses, why did they ever need taxpayer money? If we bailed them out so they can earn their way back to solvency, why are they sending all of the money out the door instead of keeping it inside the company so that THEY can pay for the next crisis they cause instead of the US taxpayer?
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Wall Street Pay: A record $140 billion
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The top people in any industry or line of work always make significantly more than the average Joe.
I don't see headlines about the unfairness of some NFL players making more than local league players, movie stars who earn substantially more than the local coffeehouse actors, or best selling authors whose incomes dwarf the struggling writers, to name a few. And I don't see any of these high income folks volunteering to share their incomes with those less fortunate in their industry in order to "make it fair".
As another example, Obama himself, as an author has made far more than the average writer. Yet he is silent when it comes to "spreading it around". Apparently that isn't good for him even though he claims it's good for everyone else.
This is just more bashing of the successful.
Others have pointed out issues regarding high salaries when the companies paying these salaries are receiving taxpayer dollars. Just remember - someone in government had to authorize giving the taxpayer dollars to them first.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Wall Street Pay: A record $140 billion
JEROME KERVIEL, ROGUE TRADER, GETS JAIL, MUST REPAY €6 BILLION
It sounds like he is guilty and deserves to go to jail.
By letting the bank largely off the hook, though, the French courts have done a great job deflecting attention from the French government. French banks are very tightly regulated, just like in the US. Trading activities of that magnitude should have shown up in a regulatory audit somewhere in a 3 year period. It sounds like there were warnings of a "rogue trader" inside SocGen and no regulators took the time to investigate.
None of this minimizes the actions nor the punishment of M Kerviel, but it does once again beg the question of why regulators seem incapable of doing their jobs, even when they are handed the evidence they need on a silver platter. In that respect, this is Bernie Madoff all over again...
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Ex-SocGen trader Kerviel convicted of trading fraud
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I do not excuse this guy for what he did, he may deserve even more time in jail for his unethical actions, but also to claim that he should pay the 6 billion is ridiculous and sends the message that the bank is completely innocent in this ordeal.
The bank failed to have proper controls, or even worse, they chose to look the other way while this guy was making tons of money with his “unauthorized” risk taking. The bank pocketed large sums of money from this guy’s rogue trading before things went south for him, if this is the case then they should also fine the bank for those profits to send them a message that turning the other way while someone wipes his rear with your internal controls is not acceptable, even if he is making money for you.
Read the article WALL STREET JOURNAL/Ex-SocGen trader Kerviel convicted of trading fraud
This guy was the fall guy plain and simple for the positions that went south in cdo's etc.
I have been trading on electronic platforms since their inception and they know where you stand to the penny, second by second. And the platforms where he worked are the best in the world.
Keep in mind Generale' also owns Newedge probably the largest platform in the world, with thousands of clients, and they know where they stand to the penny each and every second.
This kid got screwed plain and simple and his losses were perhaps large, but nowhere near the magnitude he is taking the fall.
Read the article MARKET WATCH/Kerviel sentenced to jail over SocGen scandal
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I work on a financial trade floor in Paris as well. Its impossible to do what Kerviel did at not know about it. This guy wasn't Nick Leeson, a very senior trader stuck in some remote office in Singapore, where no-one or nothing (it terms of IT) could supervise his work. He was a junior trader with his bosses and business analysts (who monitor trades) sitting across the room in a open space
These days there are too many checks both human and IT for him not to get away with it alone. Its impossible for SG not to know what he was doing. There would have to epedemic of blindness and gross incompetance at SG to believe it
Kerviel was their rising star, he had made many risky trades that paid off big for SG in the past so they turned a blind eye assuming the boy had the King Midas touch. But as with all gamblers, luck is fleeting, and the moment Kerviels luck changed "SG" threw him to the wolves.
Kerviel salary wasnt that large (in terms of what traders make), so the trades he made were on behalf of his employer, he didn't personally benefit from them.
That doesn't mean Kerviel doesn't deserve to go to jail, he did the crime, its just he should be sharing a cell.
Read the article CNN/French rogue trader found guilty
READ MORE COMMENTS: SEPTEMBER 2010
