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I tried to hold this stock as long as I could but w/o any significant news this stock headed downward. I got out at .045 with no profit. Sometimes its the luck of the draw.
GLTA
Absolutely! I can't wait until Monday. Im picking up another
300K.
$MRIB$
Can someone tell me where to order a bottle of this Vodka? Thx
$MRIB
I wonder what tomorrow brings. A green Friday would be nice.
Go FnF!!!!
I'm glad I got out on Tuesday morning but I was really cheering on the you guys that got in less than a penny. This will take off one day. IMHO
GLTA
I bet you have a preorder ready to go or else you wouldn't be on this board. There's Money to be made here!
$$$MRIB
You have to admit this is one Strong penny stock. Most penny stocks just keep declining after many shareholders sell but this one is hanging in there. That speaks volume to me!
$MRIB
Not a bad close considering all the flipping going on.
I like that!
You gotta hold when you got something valuable. This is truly a different penny stock from the rest. GLTA
WATT you say!
I guess the news didn't make a Green impact! Maybe after noon.
Crawford you are right on! I'm picking up more shares today. I don't want to be lock out as many will. GLTA
Me too! The Obama Administration or Mel Watt has not made recent mention of the Wind down. A lot of the analyst are just going off news from 2009. A lot has changed since then, like FNF paid their debt and went after all of the banks who sold faulty loans.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/12/09/2939794/rep-watt-expected-to-overcome.html
McClatchy Washington BureauDecember 9, 2013 Updated 12 minutes ago
WASHINGTON — Rep. Mel Watt is expected to be confirmed this week to lead the influential housing-finance regulator that oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after the Senate changed its filibuster rules, making it harder to block White House nominees.
But Republicans aren’t likely to acquiesce lightly. They’ve blocked the North Carolina Democrat’s nomination for months and could still use a collection of procedural hurdles to stymie – or at least delay – the nomination to draw more public scrutiny to the pick.
President Barack Obama nominated the Charlotte congressman and longtime member of the House Financial Services Committee in May to lead the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The little-known agency has big responsibilities overseeing the combined trillion-dollar portfolio of the two government-controlled mortgage finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Watt’s nomination has been held up by wrangling between Republicans who want Fannie and Freddie to keep the focus on profitability and returns for investors and Democrats who want to make mortgage lending easier for all Americans.
Republicans like acting director Ed DeMarco. They think Watt is too closely tied to the White House, isn’t politically independent and lacks the needed technical experience for the position.
They worry that he’d force Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to relax some mortgage-underwriting requirements to speed up lending. The White House also has advocated for lenders to forgive loan principal for Americans who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth. DeMarco has resisted that move on the grounds that Fannie and Freddie shouldn’t pay for it.
“You want someone in there who is pretty resistant to political pressure. And career politicians are not legendary for that,” said former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who leads the conservative research center American Action Forum.
Watt, who’s attending the memorial service for former South African President Nelson Mandela, couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.
Watt has the support of the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders. But he’s faced opposition from influential conservative groups, such as Heritage Action for America and the Club for Growth.
Republicans, for the most part, like Watt. At his nomination hearing, Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, the ranking member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, commended him on his successful career and work on the House Financial Services Committee.
But Crapo questioned whether Watt was politically independent enough and had the necessary policy and technical expertise for the job.
“The director has virtually unchecked power to control two multi-trillion-dollar companies and through them the entire mortgage market,” Crapo said.
This isn’t the first time that Obama has looked to North Carolina to fill the position.
The last man nominated to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency, North Carolina Banking Commissioner Joseph Smith, withdrew his name in January 2011 after losing support from Republicans who were concerned about whether he’d exert enough independence from the Obama administration.
“It’s interesting when Joe Smith was nominated . . . he was not elected because he was viewed as too much of a technocrat,” said Rick Judson, the chairman of the National Association of Home Builders. “And yet you have Mel Watt – who is bright, articulate, experienced and knows the financial side of things – and yet he’s viewed as not as much of a statistician. It really boils down, unfortunately, to the political side of things.”
This week’s vote on Watt would be the first nonjudicial executive branch appointment to come up for a vote since the Senate’s parliamentary move changing the rules to allow confirmation by a simple majority of senators instead of the 60-vote filibuster-proof threshold needed to advance to a final vote.
Watt expressed confidence after the vote that he’d finally be confirmed.
“I’ve known it’s not been about me,” he said. “Every once in a while they’ll make some noises about qualifications. But no one felt they were saying that with a straight face. This has been about politics, and a lot of it has been directed at this president.”
Holtz-Eakin said Republicans would want to shed some light on an appointment that many of them thought was for the wrong guy. But he expects Watt to be confirmed and doesn’t think Republicans will waste much political capital fighting the nomination at the risk as being seen as obstructionist.
“I don’t think they’ll run the clock out as long as they could, because it’ll be viewed as just doing it for the sake of doing it,” he said.
Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2013/12/09/2939794/rep-watt-expected-to-overcome.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/12/09/4532926/confirm-mel-watt-for-housing-agency.html#.UqZSb8016eY
Confirm Mel Watt for housing agencyPosted:
Monday, Dec. 09, 2013
With the wise elimination last month of a much-abused filibuster rule, the Senate could vote on U.S. Rep. Mel Watt’s nomination to head the Federal Housing Finance Agency as early as Tuesday. Senators should confirm his nomination without further delay.
The Charlotte Democrat was treated shabbily when Senate Republicans blocked his nomination in October, claiming he was unqualified. Hogwash. As Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Johnson, D-S.D., so aptly noted, that vote was “pure obstructionist politics.”
Watt became the first sitting member of Congress since 1843 to be denied a major executive branch post when GOP senators required 60 votes to allow his nomination to go forward. Fed up with such obstructionism, Senate Democrats eliminated that use of the filibuster. This time, only a simple majority will be needed.
The charges Senate Republicans made that Watt was unqualified for the job lack merit. Watt was a real estate and business lawyer before his election to Congress. And for nearly two decades in the U.S. House, he has worked on housing policy as a member of the House Financial Services Committee. Even some banking and finance groups who disagree with Watt’s ideology – and that of President Barack Obama who nominated Watt – acknowledge he has the background and experience for the job and say he would be a fair and balanced leader for the agency.
He also has the support of both of North Carolina’s U.S. senators, Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan, as well as an array of financial leaders including National Association of Realtors President Gary Thomas and National Association of Home Builders Chairman Rick Judson. Also backing Watt is the Mortgage Bankers Association and the AFL-CIO.
Watt said last week that he was insulted when those opposing him questioned his qualifications. “It’s hard to be insulted if you know it’s just politics, but when people start to say, ‘I’m doing this because he’s unqualified,’ then it is insulting and then you start to take it personally,” Bloomberg News reported.
It was an insult, an unwarranted one.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is no doubt right when he pins Watt’s opposition to opponents’ dislike of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the controversial agencies the FHFA oversees. The government is shrinking the roles of Fannie and Freddie in mortgage lending and trying to draw back more private capital. Opponents worry Watt isn’t committed to that.
But as the Wall Street Journal noted in a story last week, the Obama administration believes in shrinking the roles of Freddie and Fannie to limit government exposure to mortgage defaults. Under Watt, it may seek to overhaul the broader market in different ways, but the administration isn’t likely to backtrack on winding down the two agencies. The Journal also noted that Watt is likely to bring key stakeholders together to fashion a more coherent strategic plan for operating Freddie and Fannie, and FHFA, than now exists. It is also believed that Watt will encourage more help for borrowers, something industry economists say is needed.
All that bodes well for a stronger, more focused FHFA. Watt can provide the leadership this agency needs. He deserves confirmation.
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Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/12/09/4532926/confirm-mel-watt-for-housing-agency.html#storylink=cpy
Nice!
I can't wait to see where we close today. It should make it slightly over .02. $$$$$MRIB
GLTA
Thanks!
I really believe winding down the GSE's was the agenda back in 2009. The economy will suffer w/o FNF. However we all realize that reform has to take place to ensure this never happens again. They will be restored and reformed. The growth of the economy is linked to housing.
This is right on point. I think the initial talk about winding down the GSE's in 2009 was because at that time they had very little knowledge of other banks involvement. Now that FNF went after all of these banks and won. Wind down may have a new meaning (more like reform).
Also with Obama Care being flawed (though not intended). I don't think he would screw this up. They are keeping quiet until Mel Watt is officially announced as head of the FHFA. Mel Watt knows that privatizing would lead to another economic collapse. Obama will listen to Mel. Their platform will be different. IMO
All the best everyone. Hold strong!!
Good article!
We didn't too bad today as some predicted. Friday will probably be the same. Praying for some good news next week. Have a Happy Thanksgivings with family, football, drinks and a little shopping for us ladies.
We all hope that the government releases FnF from conservatorship once the debt is paid off in its entirety. It's really hard to understand how can you loan someone 190 billion, they pay you back every penny of it, but get no credit towards it????? That is a conservatorship agreement? Conserve and protect? Does that sound like a fair bailout? So may crooks involved.
Excuse the grammatical errors. I'm multitasking (cooking, posting on ihub, homeworkw/son).
I too believe FNF are here to stay however it will be a long run before this is all settled. FNF is part of America and I agree it needs a little reforming however we can't do away with the GSE's who helped so many families buy a home. They All (Politicians & Government) want a piece of this pie. American Greed!
Greetings as well!
Why Mel Watt Heading Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Will Push HARP 3.0 To The Forefront
The Mortgage Reports-by Dan Green-Nov 25, 2013
Waiting for HARP 3 to pass Congress? Your wait may be just about over.
Within days or weeks, congressional representative Mel Watt is expected to be confirmed as the new head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The controls Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and administers the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP).
HARP was expanded once under current FHFA director, Ed DeMarco but little progress has been made with the program since. With Watt at the helm, the FHFA is expected to overhaul HARP a second time to provide additional aid to troubled U.S. homeowners.
HARP 3 could be here in December. Get today's HARP mortgage rates here.
What Is HARP?
HARP is an acronym. It stands for Home Affordable Refinance Program.
HARP is an economic stimulus program. It was first launched in March 2009 using monies from the Housing and Recovery Act. The premise of the program was to help U.S. homeowners whose homes had lost equity to get access to the day's falling mortgage rates.
Mortgage rates had dropped 1.50 percentage points in the seven months preceding HARP's launch. U.S. homeowners were eager to refinance. However, few could.
Prior to HARP, homeowners whose homes had lost equity were ineligible to refinance without paying private mortgage insurance (PMI) for which costs were exploding; or, without reducing their existing loan balance to 80% loan-to-value at closing, which was often costly given sharply falling home values in many U.S. states.
HARP instructed lenders to ignore mortgage insurance requirements and to waive loan-to-value restrictions. HARP only required that homeowners have a mortgage backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and a reasonable strong payment history.
The typical HARP household was expected to save $3,000 annually via refinance -- a projection soon revealed to be overly conservative. As mortgage rates dipped into the 4s and household savings multiplied, it became clear that HARP was a hit.
However, the program was less-than-perfect, in some respects.
As one example, HARP guidelines included a 125% loan-to-value limit which meant that loans over 125% LTV could not be HARP-eligible.
The guideline had little effect on homeowners in cities such Boston, Massachusetts; Denver, Colorado; or Cincinnati, Ohio where home values fell only modestly last decade. For homeowners in hard-hit cities, though, including Phoenix, Arizona; San Francisco, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada, HARP remained out of reach.
As another example, the language of the Home Affordable Refinance Program was written such that refinancing lenders were responsible for any underwriting errors made by the loan's former mortgage lender. If Wells Fargo refinanced a Countrywide mortgage via HARP, then, Wells Fargo would be responsible for Countrywide's due diligence on the loan.
This liability clause created risk for HARP lenders so many simply elected to refinance their own loans only. This was known as "same-servicer" refinancing. You could only refinance a Wells Fargo loan with Wells Fargo; a Bank of America loan with Bank of America; a Chase loan with Chase; and so on.
HARP was expected to reach 7 million households but, after nearly years, it had failed to reach even one million. That's when the FHFA revamped and released the HARP mortgage program, which came to be known as HARP 2.0.
http://themortgagereports.com/14025/why-mel-watts-heading-fannie-mae-and-freddie-mac-will-push-harp-3-0-to-the-forefront
I believe they will continue to push until Mel Watt is confirmed. The BIG question is where do we stand? IMO I believe they will regulate what goes on rather than do away with Fannie/Freddie.
Watt could be closer to Senate confirmation
Story
Mel Watt
Posted: Saturday, November 23, 2013 9:48 am
By Bertrand M. Gutierrez Winston-Salem Journal
The move by Democrats in the U.S. Senate this week to limit the use of the filibuster by Republicans makes it more likely that U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, D-12th, will be confirmed as President Barack Obama’s selection to help regulate mortgage-industry giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Senate GOP members blocked Watt’s confirmation last month, in a vote of 56-42 that sought to end debate and allow a subsequent vote on the nomination itself.
Under the old rules, 60 votes were needed to end debate. In effect, 41 senators could filibuster, or delay, a vote by continuing debate, as was the case with the prospect of Watt’s nomination.
Under the new rules, a simple majority could nominate Watt. If all 100 senators are present, only 51 votes would be required.
“We have always felt that we could win on an up-or-down vote,” Watt said Friday in a phone interview.
The 12th Congressional District runs from Greensboro to Charlotte, mostly along Interstate 85.
Obama announced in May that he wanted Watt to be the director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA.
He would replace the acting chief, Edward DeMarco, an appointee from the Bush administration.
“Mel has led efforts to rein in unscrupulous mortgage lenders and he’s fought to give more Americans in lower-income neighborhoods access to affordable housing,” Obama said in May.
Last month, two Senate Republicans, Richard Burr of Winston-Salem and Rob Portman of Ohio, broke from their party, opting not to filibuster Watt’s nomination.
Burr has strongly supported Watt’s nomination.
“Having served with Mel, I know of his commitment to sustainable federal housing programs and am confident he will work hard to protect taxpayers from future exposure to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” he said in May.
But Burr also came out strongly Thursday against the limited filibuster. “The American people know what they get when the Senate removes the 60-vote threshold and the minority is stripped of its rights: They get unchecked power by the executive branch.”
Burr said Friday that he would vote for Watt again.
http://www.news-record.com/news/article_57a5e3ba-544e-11e3-9faf-001a4bcf6878.html
A big thanks to Blue & Crawford for all your research. You guys have been digging deep into why FNMA/FMCC will be around for a long time. Without them the American dream of owning a home would not exist for many families. Detearing you are too are also a great motivator/veteran trader. As a newbie I can definitely appreciate you ALL.
You guys rock!
Senate "Nuclear Option" Could Lead to Mel Watt Confirmation to FHFA
BY Shanthi Bharatwaj| 11/21/13 - 04:36 PM EST
Stock quotes in this article: FNMA, FMCC
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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The Senate's vote on Thursday to ease the confirmation process for executive and judicial presidential nominees might clear the way for the confirmation of Rep. Mel Watt (D., N.C.) as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Democrats voted to overturn an existing rule that required a minimum of 60 votes to break a filibuster blocking a floor vote for a presidential nomination. Under the new rules, a simple majority of 51 is sufficient.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said that he decided to invoke the "nuclear option" to change the rules after Republicans blocked several Presidential nominees.
In October, Republicans blocked the nomination of Watt to head the FHFA, marking the first time the nomination of a sitting member of Congress was blocked in 150 years.
But with an easier confirmation process, Watt will likely be confirmed to head the FHFA, which regulates bailed-out mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNMA_) and Freddie Mac (FMCC_), according to a note from KBW.
If confirmed, there could be some changes in policy at the FHFA.
Acting FHFA director Edward DeMarco has clashed with the Obama Administration on a number of issues, most notably on his reluctance to allow the agencies to forgive principal. DeMarco has argued that other relief measures such as forbearance are equally effective, less costly to administer and do not encourage moral hazard.
Watt is seen as being more sympathetic to the Administration's views and may be more open to principal reductions.
However, it might already be too late for that. "The impact of principal forgiveness would depend on the fate of the mortgage forgiveness tax credit, which is due to expire at year end," notes KBW analyst Brian Gardner.
Loan forgiveness is considered a source of income under tax rules, but the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act allows taxpayers to exclude income from discharge of debt on their principal residence. With the act expiring this year, borrowers who court principal forgiveness would have to take a big tax hit.
Recently the Internal Revenue Service clarified that borrowers in non-recourse states, where lender cannot pursue borrowers personally in case of default, can avoid the tax hit. Read more here.
Apart from the issue of principal forgiveness, Watt might scrap FHFA plans to reduce conforming loan limits and plans to reduce the agencies' presence in the multi-family mortgage market. DeMarco has been trying to reduce the footprint of the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs), which now purchase over 80% of newly originated mortgage loans. However, the mortgage industry and the real estate industry have opposed these plans as they believe shrinking the agencies' presence when private capital is still largely absent will disrupt the housing market.
On the big picture of mortgage finance reform, KBW anticipates no major change. "We doubt Watt's confirmation will greatly impact the fate of mortgage finance legislation unless the Administration decides that having its own man at FHFA means they can now push for legislation," Gardner wrote.
"Also, we do not believe Rep. Watt's confirmation would have any effect on the private sector proposals to spin off Fannie and Freddie, "he said, referring to the recent proposal by Fairholme Capital's Bruce Berkowitz to privatize the insurance businesses of the GSEs. "We still view the chances of that happening as very small."
-- Written by Shanthi Bharatwaj in New York.
I'm wondering what up with this company. As soon as I make money back on his stock. I'm out. This is the second consecutive week in red! Wow what a bummer
Dang too much RED is hard on the eyes!. I'm to nervous to add more shares. But I'm gonna stay in a hold position for now! Stay positive everyone!!
I'm so glad I added 2400 more shares yesterday. Could have gotten more but that damn 3 day holding period can slow you down on OTC's (TD Ameritrade).
Since this stock is so news driven, I hope more good news comes are way. Enjoy the green everyone!!
This may be the good news to head this North again. Nice post!
OTC Stocks are not smooth sailing, its more like a roller coaster ride. I'm learning to take some profit along the way. In the end I believe we will ALL make BIG money. As they say at the Casino, Lucky 7. Let's Go Fannie & Freddie!
This is a scary roller coaster ride for a new comer. WTF going on. Is this a good sign?
Good morning all, I am a newbie and I bought 4000 FNMA shares at 2.3. Monday, Oct. 28th. I was on a high until yesterday. I'll admit I was nervous as ever. I work in an office so I had to close my door and say WTF! However I'm a risk taker so I'm hanging in there. I don't want you guys to come out on top without me. I hope today brings us ALL back in the green status. Your Post have kept me inspired!! Get your coffee ready and let's Go FnF!!! WHOOHOO!