Futures Mixed Ahead of Inventory Data
Wall Street prepares for the Commerce Department’s report on January wholesale inventories as well as the Energy Information Administration’s weekly read on inventory levels.

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Citigroup Stock Up on Securities Sale Talk
Citigroup stock shares continued on its upward trajectory early Wednesday as the institution gets ready to sell up to $2 billion worth of trust-preferred securities.

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Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking Selects SOX-XL Software Suite for End User Computing Controls and …
CIMCON Software Inc., the Pioneering Market Leader in Governance, Risk and Compliance solutions for End User Computing , today announced that Societe Generale Corporate & Investment Banking has selected the SOX-XL suite of tools for spreadsheet and database monitoring and controls.

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CNN – Can’t Make Your Mortgage? Get An Emergency Loan
The Jobless May Not Be Getting Much Help From President Obama’s Loan Modification Program, But Those In Pennsylvania Have Another Place To Turn.

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China limits bonuses for bankers, joining global effort to reduce financial risk
BEIJING – China has tightened controls on pay for its top bankers, joining global efforts to try to limit financial risks by linking longer-term

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Connecticut AG sues Moody’s, S&P over debt ratings
Connecticut’s attorney general sued Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s over ratings the agencies issued on risky investments.

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Focus Business Bank Announces Financial Results for the Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2009
SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – March 10, 2010) – Focus Business Bank ( OTCBB : FCSB ) announced unaudited financial results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2009. The Bank ended the quarter with assets of $108 million, an increase of 14% over December 31, 2008. The Bank had a loss for the quarter of $671,000 compared to a loss of $1,007,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2009. The …

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Amplify Credit Union Adds 30 Jobs to Austin Economy in 2010
Downtown Branch On Target to Open this Summer

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Dem gov candidate wants to open Mich. state bank
Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero says Michigan should follow the lead of North Dakota and open a state bank that could make low-interest loans to businesses and college students.

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Alabama Senate Democrats Propose Temporary Tax Cuts To Stimulate Economy
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The Democratic Caucus in the Alabama Senate is proposing temporary tax cuts to try to stimulate the state’s economy.

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You’re buying a home. Well picture this… you are sitting down at a loan officer desk and they tell you that if you want to purchase a home your LTV must be 96.50% and your D/P must be 3.5% your Rate is 5.00% and your APR is 5.752% w/ PT’s of 1.00% and a Loan origination fee of 1.00%. With all of that your PITIMI (piti-me) payment will be 1,100.00 per month.

Do you understand anything that was just said? Maybe a few of you do but for most of us that aren’t in lending this can be a big jumble of acronyms and abbreviations that don’t make a bit of sense. So here it is… the down low on the top 5 most used lending terms.

1. PITIMI (piti-me) payment – This is your total combined mortgage payment. Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance, & Mortgage Insurance

2. MI – Mortgage Insurance – Contrary to belief this is not your Home Owners Insurance. Mortgage Insurance is an insurance payment that you pay for your lender. It allows for banks to give out loans to people with a smaller amount of down payment and the customer pays the insurance to cover their risk for the loan. If someone defaults on their loan and the lender has to sell the property then the insurance will cover any gap in the amount that the collect.

3. H/O – Home Owners Insurance. This is your insurance policy. The insurance that you chose to cover your home against disasters, fire, and theft to be able to get you your money back if something happens to your property or your possessions inside.

4. LTV – Loan- To-Value. This is the percentage that is calculated from the amount that your loan is to the value of the home. IF your home is worth 100K and your loan is 80K then your LTV is 80%

5. APR – Annual Percentage Rate – this is not the rate that your payment is calculated on. Your mortgage payment will always be calculated based on the Interest Rate. You’re APR is what banks use to portray the true cost of your loan. If you have a bunch of fees associated with your loan then your APR will generally be a lot higher then the interest rate, if you don’t have very many fees to pay then your APR will be closer to the interest rate on your loan. When you compare loan products it is best that you compare your APR instead of the Interest Rate.

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(AFX UK Focus) 2010-03-10 18:56 WRAPUP 1-US wholesale inventories fall, restocking expected
By Lucia Mutikani

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Daily Finance News Headlines
AM Update is a comprehensive business resource that gets your day off to a flying start. In just one email you will be able to review at a glance the most important news headlines in the world of finance and business.

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Trial slated in Gardner case
GRAND RAPIDS – A trial date of April 27 has been set for former Stevensville village manager Todd Gardner on charges of taking $293,140 from the village.

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Australian Economy to Expand Faster, RBA’s Lowe Says (Update2)
March 10 (Bloomberg) — Australia’s economy is likely to expand at or above its average pace over the next few years, stoking inflation pressures and house prices, central bank official Philip Lowe said.

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Association Financial Services Appoints Craig S. Lane Head of Sales for Florida’s I-4 Corridor
MIAMI, FL–(Marketwire – 03/09/10) – Association Financial Services (AFS), a leading provider of financial services and lending solutions for Florida condominium and homeowner associations, today announced that it has appointed Craig S. Lane as head of sales for the Mid-Florida region. Mr. Lane, who will be based in Tampa, brings an extensive background in banking and mortgage finance to AFS and …

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Two bills designed to address some of the problems resulting from the economic crisis have been signed by President Obama. The first deals with mortgage fraud and the other with helping families who are involved in a foreclosure situation save their homes.

Look out rip-off artists, enforcers of the new mortgage fraud bill means serious business. Almost half a billion federal dollars has been authorized to spend on targeting charges of mortgage fraud. Agencies the likes of the Secret Service, U.S. Postal Service and HUD are all getting additional funding to increase their security measures.

The Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act now sanctions the government to go after companies or individuals currently out of reach. Currently, an incidence of mortgage fraud can result in investigation, prosecution, civil penalties and prison time at a federal level, opposed to the prior gentler state penalties previously enforced. This new Act applies to all types of mortgage fraud, no matter how minor the offence.

In the past, these schemes defrauded home owners, realtors, lenders and builders out of billions of dollars each year. The FBI intends to send a message that mortgage fraud will not be tolerated and it is expected that offenders will receive stiff penalties in order to set an example to others.

The second bill, simply entitled, “Helping Families Save Their Homes Act,” is intended to simplify the process for homeowners to receive foreclosure financing and modifications to existing loans. It also makes it easier for the lender to offer these types of options and hopefully prevent an impending foreclosure.

The new law also offers protection for renters who find themselves living in a home whose owners are facing foreclosure. Under the old rules, tenants would have to move immediately following foreclosure, now they have the option to continue renting for a term negotiated with the lender. This makes sense on so many levels. Now hundreds of families who otherwise would have found themselves on the street, still have homes. Lenders no longer have to deal with the problems associated with the upkeep of an empty home. Hopefully this will reduce occurrences of complete neighborhoods of foreclosed houses sitting vacant and facing ill repair and vandalism. In many cases, reliable tenants are happy to stay on and maintain the property.

The law provides additional homeless relief, makes better use of local organizations in this role, and allows them more latitude when allocating federal funds for assistance.

Part of the reason that mortgage fraud became so widespread was attributed to the lack of a single watchdog affiliation to oversee the the sketchy subprime loan offerings, underwriting and lending schemes. Instead there were a number of small agencies, each only seeing part of the problem, but no single unit had the power to actually deal with the issue as a whole. Currently, the Obama administration has a plan in the works to establish a single federal agency designed to watch over everyone involved; from the small brokers to the major lenders.

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Australian Economy to Expand Faster, RBA’s Lowe Says (Update2)
March 10 (Bloomberg) — Australia’s economy is likely to expand at or above its average pace over the next few years, stoking inflation pressures and house prices, central bank official Philip Lowe said.

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10.03.2010 – DJ DGAP-Adhoc: Marenave Schiffahrts AG: Agreement with a financing bank
Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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10.03.2010 – DJ DGAP-Adhoc: Marenave Schiffahrts AG: Agreement with a financing bank
Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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Conn. AG sues Moody’s, S&P over ratings
Connecticut’s attorney general sued Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s over ratings the pair issued on risky investments. In a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal alleged Moody’s and S&P knowingly assigned false ratings to complex investments that pushed the country into recession. The suit, which Mr. Blumenthal called the first of its kind against …

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Prime Group Realty Trust Suspends Series B Preferred Dividends for the First Quarter of 2010 and Receives Lender …
CHICAGO—-Prime Group Realty Trust announced today that its Board of Trustees determined not to declare a quarterly distribution on its Series B Preferred Shares for the first quarter of 2010, and that the Board is unable to determine when the Company might recommence distributions on the Series B Preferred Shares.

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Soaring China home prices thwart ordinary buyers
SHANGHAI: The luxury apartment buildings Yang Xuhua passes on her way to work are a daily reminder of her own frustrated efforts to buy a home. Prices for even modest apartments in Shanghai have soare…

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Foreclosures on the rise in Johnson County
The topic of foreclosures isn’t a favorite of bankers but with the high rate of local homes being set for Sheriff’s sale, the issue has come to the forefront of the local economic world.

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Mortgages ‘more easily available’
The number of mortgage deals on offer to borrowers rose by 6% in the past month, according to Moneyfacts.

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Mortgages ‘more easily available’
The number of mortgage deals on offer to borrowers rose by 6% in the past month, according to Moneyfacts.

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Soaring China home prices thwart ordinary buyers
The luxury apartment buildings Yang Xuhua passes on her way to work are a daily reminder of her own frustrated efforts to buy a home. Prices for even modest apartments in Shanghai have soared, putting home purchases out of reach for white collar workers and… China – Shanghai – White-collar worker – Asia – Travel and Tourism

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We list below a brief explanation of each of the more common types of home loans available to home owners and home buyers. Before you go to one of the sites like wikianswers or Yahoo! Answers (and sorting through a dozen spam comments) give this page a quick look as most likely you’ll find your answers here.

Mortgages

There are a dozen different types of mortgages, but in the interest of simplicity, we’ll just explain the basic idea behind a mortgage which is that you take out a loan using the home you intend to buy as collateral against the loan. If you fail to make payments, the lender will ultimately have the right to your home and can foreclose or sell it. Mortgages do come with interest rates, like any other loan.

Subprime Lending

Subprime lending refers to a lender providing credit to borrowers who don’t yet meet prime underwriting guidelines. Subprime borrows have a higher perceived risk. This lending is applied to people with a history of delinquency or defaulting, those with bad credit, or those simply with limited debt experience (eg students).

Subprime lending was a common type of lending during the 2007 credit crunch. Now… according to the Wall Street Journal, 61 percent of all subprime borrowers actually do have the ability to take out a prime conventional loan. So it is wise to know your options before putting yourself at risk.

Home Equity Loan

A home equity loan is simply a loan wherein a borrower puts the equity of their house up as collateral. This is common as a means of paying for much needed home repairs, paying for hospital bills, or even financing the purchase of a new car. Equity loans are given in one lump payment generally with a fixed, as opposed to adjustable, interest rate.

It’s not advised that you take this route unless you absolutely need to, and can be absolutely certain that you can pay it off. That said, this can be an excellent way of turning your home into an investment for starting a new business or paying unforeseen expenses.

Home Equity Line of Credit

A Home Equity Line of Credit, or HELOC, is a different form of Home Equity Loan. Whereas a Home Equity Loan uses the home as collateral for a lump sum, the HELOC uses the home as collateral for a line of credit. The line of credit is offered for a “draw period”, which could be anywhere from five to twenty five years, and repayment will be of the amount drawn, plus interest, which may be adjustable. This type of loan has become popular in the US because it can be deducted from one’s taxes.

Refinancing

Refinancing is basically the trading of one debt for another. The benefit can be a lowered interest rate or smaller monthly payments. In recent years, this kind of debt-swapping has become popular thanks largely to the strife in the global economy, leaving home owners unable to meet the demands of a loan taken out before the UK and US recessions.

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OCBC Bank Ups BLR To 5.80 Per Cent
KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 (Bernama) — OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd and its subsidiary, OCBC Al-Amin Bank Bhd, will increase their base lending rate (BLR) and base financing rate (BFR) to 5.80 per cent effective Thursday.

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Shadow Banking System: A Murky World of Credit, Securitisation and Derivatives
Most of these are interest rate and credit derivatives. As we learned in the last two years, the big risk here is to institutions which owe and own these obligations amongst one another. In our view, the degree of interconnectedness among these obligations (they still aren’t unwound) still makes the entire global financial system vulnerable…

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OCBC ups lending rate to 5.80pc
OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd and its subsidiary, OCBC Al-Amin Bank Bhd, will increase their base lending rate (BLR) and base financing rate (BFR) to 5.80 per cent effective tomorrow. Their previous BLR and BFR were 5.55 per cent per annum. The bank said the increase followed the upward revision of Bank Negara’s Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) last Thursday. The central bank raised the OPR by 25 basis …

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CBRC chairman: inflation beyond moderate level unlikely
Chairman Liu Mingkang of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) recently held an exclusive interview with Xinhua news agency, talking about hot issues in the banking sector this year. Q: 2009 is the most difficult year for China’s economy in the new century, and 2010 is seen as the most complex and uncertain year, what initiatives are the CBRC considering in 2010? A: In 2009, China’s …

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Goldman Sachs seeks to appeal Canwest TV sale to Shaw
TORONTO – Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs has asked an appeals court to kill the sale of Canwest Global Communications’ television assets to cable operator Shaw Communications (TSX:SJR.B).

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Adjustable rate mortgages will be responsible for a new wave of foreclosures over the next 2-3 years. As a majority of the loans that were given to home owners were risky, toxic loans that came with low teaser rates, which are now expiring and as a result home owners, will see their payments sky rocket. This will become overwhelming for a lot of home owners who are already dealing with a job loss or reduced hours at work as the economy declines.

The worst type of adjustable rate mortgage is known as the option ARM, also known as pick-a-payment loan, which gave home owners several payment options per month. They could choose to make a minimum payment similar to a credit card, an interest only payment or a fully amortized principle and interest payment.

Majority of the borrowers that got these types of loans chose to pay the minimum which was normally at a 1 % interest rate, without fully understanding the consequences of doing so, and saw their balance each month increase with this payment option. Some weren’t too concerned as when they got the loan, real estate values were increasing on what may have seem like a daily basis, but got a rude awakening when the real estate bubble burst. So now they are dealing with a home that is worth less than their mortgage amount and now their payment is about to reset which will mean they will see some major payment shock as they have to now make a full principle and interest payment.

And to make matters worst, refinancing will no longer be an option for these home owners, even if they have good credit as they will have no equity in their property to do so. And even if they could qualify for a refinance most home owners would still see an increase in payment especially if they were only making the minimum 1% rate payment.

According to Fitch Ratings, about $134 billion in option ARMs will reset in the next 2 years and home owners will see their monthly mortgage payment increase by 63 %. The home owners that will experience the worst of the mortgage epidemic are the ones that reside in Florida, Arizona, California and Nevada. These states are considered ground zero for foreclosures and are seeing the largest declines in property values fueled by the high foreclosure rate.

Some of the major lenders are starting be proactive with these types of loans on their books and are reaching out to home owners early to see if they can limit their losses by refinancing, short sales and or loan modifications which would include not just rate reductions, but extension for terms from a 30 year loan to a 40 year loan and in some cases principle reductions to make the payments more affordable.

Home owners that have any type of adjustable or exotic mortgage loan need to take action early and not wait on their lender to bail them out. Some home owners will be best suited with a short sale and to start over, while other may qualify for a loan modification that can give them more affordable payment.

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