The Washington Independent

Posts Tagged financial crisis

FHA to Tighten Lending Standards as Defaults Rise

By | 12.02.09 | 9:27 am

On the heels of our report detailing short-sale flipping and other kinds of mortgage fraud that are on the rise, the Federal Housing Administration plans to announce it will tighten lending standards to try to stem rising defaults.

The Washington Post reports Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun More…

If You Can’t Rent a Foreclosed Property Back to the Owner, You May as Well Throw a Party

By | 11.24.09 | 2:16 pm

With a sprawling, multi-million dollar mansion in Sandy Springs, Ga., sitting empty for two years, some enterprising folks nearby had an idea: Fill it with a big party.

According to USA Today, the Halloween bash at the six-bedroom mansion was a huge success, drawing 1,000 people. It ended only when More…

Teaching Financial Literacy in a Credit Card Nation

By | 11.13.09 | 10:28 am

The subprime crisis certainly highlighted the need for American consumers to become more financially literate. But who defines financial literacy? And what makes someone an expert? Mike Konczal at Rortybomb asks these and other questions regarding financial literacy education — a subject TWI has also been looking into More…

When It Comes to Financial Reform, Let the Games Begin

By | 10.15.09 | 9:05 am

As we noted on Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee is in the midst of tackling financial regulatory reform, which has brought out the lobbyists in full force. Here’s just a small taste of the action so far: American Banker is reporting that the committee is close to More…

Using ACORN To Misrepresent the Community Reinvestment Act, Once Again

By | 10.13.09 | 9:31 am

When is this ever going to end? Conservative lawmakers are seizing on ACORN’s troubles to once again go after the Community Reinvestment Act, an anti-redlining law that somehow became a scapegoat for the housing crisis last year, the AP reports.

The 1977 Community Reinvestment Act was intended to end

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Bill Clinton Credits Lehman Bros. for Obama’s Win

By | 10.08.09 | 8:36 am

Former President Bill Clinton now says that letting Lehman Bros. fail was a mistake that wound up clinching the election for then-candidate Barack Obama, reports Money & Company, the L.A. Times’ Business blog. Clinton’s remarks came before a meeting of the World Business Forum in New York on Wednesday, More…

Financial Literacy Coalition Teams Up With Subprime Lender

By | 10.02.09 | 6:00 am

The JumpStart Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy, a national nonprofit advocacy group that aims to improve the financial management skills of America’s youth, draws lots of attention for its surveys measuring how much kids really understand money. Last spring, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke More…

For Sean Taylor’s Family, Foreclosures and a Story That Just Gets Sadder

By | 09.30.09 | 8:53 am

The Florida house that former Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor bought for his family, and where he was shot and killed by an intruder, is headed for foreclosure. And his mother is struggling to hold on to her own home as well, The Washington Post reports.

When Taylor died

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Another Former Enron Exec Heads to Prison – But Where Are the Bankers?

By | 09.29.09 | 9:11 am

This shouldn’t go by unnoticed: The former head of Enron’s failed Internet division was just sentenced to 16 months in prison, The Washington Post reports. Joseph Hirko, the former broadband unit CEO also agreed to pay $8.7 million in restitution. Prosecutors contend Hirko falsely promoted Enron’s broadband division to More…

Fears Grow for a Bailout of the FHA

By | 09.04.09 | 8:57 am

This should sound familiar: Growing losses on Federal Housing Administration-backed mortgage loans are prompting fears the agency will be next in line for taxpayer help, The Wall Street Journal says.

The Federal Housing Administration, hit by increasing mortgage-related losses, is in danger of seeing its reserves fall below the

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