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According to the Wall Street Journal, subprime mortgage lender Accredited Home Lenders Holding is no longer accepting new U.S. loan applications and will cut more than half its work force as the company deals with the ongoing credit-market turmoil. The San Diego firm said “substantially all” of its retail lending business, which is made up… Continue reading Accredited Home Lenders Holding Announces Closing of Branches; Stops Accepting New U.S. Loan Apps

On Tuesday, Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin put the breaks on Allstate’s increase in home insurance rates, following the company’s announcement a day earlier that it was raising them to cover potential increases in property losses. In addition to putting the squash on the carrier’s proposed 5.9 percent statewide rate hike, the commissioner also issued… Continue reading Texas Insurance Commissioner Stops Allstate’s Homeowners Rate Increase

Ongoing problems for Countrywide Financial continue as it attempts to boost confidence among depositors and reassure them that their funds are safe at the company’s Countrywide Bank savings bank unit. Customers have been telephoning or visiting Countrywide Bank offices in several cities across the country asking about the security of their deposits. In some cases,… Continue reading Countrywide Battling to Calm Customers

Figures released by RealtyTrac, an on-line marketplace for foreclosure properties, indicate that home foreclosures rose 9 percent in July from June and were up 93 percent from a year ago.     The July foreclosures totaled 179,599, according to RealtyTrack. California and Florida led the country’s foreclosure activity during July. Ohio, Michigan, and Georgia experienced… Continue reading Home Foreclosures Up Ninety-three Percent from Last Year This Time

As of early Tuesday morning, stocks first saw little change and then dipped during the first few hours of chopping trading, following U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s acknowledgement that there was no quick solution to liquidity concerns rattling global markets.    “There’s not going to be a quick solution to some of the issues in… Continue reading Early Tuesday Sees Stocks Flat as Investors Tread Carefully Following Paulson’s Statement

In the ongoing battle between Congress, the Senate and the White House, the Bush administration has announced new policies that will make it harder for states to insure all but the lowest-income children.     The new administrative policies, which state health officials were told about late last week, are aimed at preventing parents with… Continue reading President and Congress Battle over Child Health Plan

The effects of the subprime debacle continue as Countrywide Financial Corp begins to lay off employees as part of its plan to reduce costs and weather a credit crunch. An email was sent to employees this past Friday by a senior official at the Full Spectrum Lending unit discussing the layoffs made. The number of… Continue reading Lay-offs Begin at Countrywide Unit

After the Federal Reserve’s move last week to step in as a lender of last resort and implication that an interest rate cut would be forthcoming, stocks continue to trade slightly higher early Monday morning but with caution.     “The market is taking some baby steps, trying to build on Friday’s rally. We’re digesting… Continue reading Wall Street Cautious Early Monday after Friday’s Surge

EQUECAT, a California-based risk modeling company, has projected that insured looses from Hurricane Dean could reach between $1.5 billion and $3 billion. The majority of the losses would be in hard-hit Jamaica in the parishes around Kingston.     The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates that damage would include commercial and residential fixed structures… Continue reading Hurricane Dean Losses Projected As High

Late last week, New York Gov. Spitzer vetoed a credit inquiry bill which prohibits the use of a consumer’s inquiries to creditors for mortgage or automobile financing rate quotes in determining the consumer’s credit score. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) asked the governor to veto the legislation because it would have eliminated… Continue reading NY Governor Spitzer Vetoes Credit Inquiry Bill; PCI and NAMIC Urged Veto