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IM Pretty New. First Cash Trade This Week.
I have a stock account with Schwab and an OptionsExpress account for options. OptionsExpress seems to charge the highest fee for options. Why am I there? Because they provide the best education in stock and options I can find.
I have been trading stocks for years with little success. This past March, I changed to Schwab and became more serious about being a trader. Schwab provides a wonderful education for free. They provide videos, webinars and live sessions. The education is worth the extra fee, in my opinion. I have spent over 2 months and well over 200 hours in learning options. OptionsExpress provides a free virtual trade account. I played with paper for over two months before trading the first option this week.
Schwab is offering a live OptionExpress training webinar tomorrow. The class is live in San Diego but can be attended by webinar. They do not require that you be a client of Schwab or OptionsExpress in order to attend the class or webinar. The class starts at noon est. You may want to try it and see if you like what they have to offer.
Schwab has customer service available almost all the time.
GLTY
Zillow Talks GSE Reform With Bipartisan Policy Center, Seeks to Educate Consumers on Various Policy Proposals
Zillow, Inc.
Real Estate Business Journal
Copyright 2013 Real Estate Business Journal via NewsRx.com
October 26, 2013
Section: Expanded Reporting
Zillow Talks GSE Reform With Bipartisan Policy Center, Seeks to Educate Consumers on Various Policy Proposals
Zillow, Inc.
2013 OCT 26 (VerticalNews) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Real Estate Business Journal -- Recently, Zillow® Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries sat down with Barry Zigas, director of housing policy for the Consumer Federation of America® and a commissioner on the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) Housing Commission, to discuss the BPC's plan for housing finance reform. A video of this discussion, entitled "Zillow Presents: Discussing Housing Finance Reform Options with Barry Zigas of the Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission, Facilitated by Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries," is now available on the Zillow Blog.
In February, the BPC released "Housing America's Future: New Directions for National Policy," a report detailing the key components of a resilient U.S. housing system, including a detailed proposal for reforming the housing finance system currently dominated by government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Under the BPC plan, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be replaced by a single public guarantor, responsible for providing a limited government guarantee on pools of mortgages sold to investors, known as securities. The plan aims to provide significant taxpayer protection while assuring that creditworthy consumers have continued access to an affordable mortgage market.
"Months before more recent legislation was introduced in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives seeking GSE reform, the Bipartisan Policy Center was out in front with its own detailed plan for housing finance reform, helping to start and build momentum around this all-important policy discussion," Humphries said. "It's critical that consumers are aware of and understand the various plans put forward for changing the way mortgage finance works in this country, and I'm very pleased Zillow is able to help keep the conversation going. As the housing market continues to improve, it's critical that we move beyond the stopgap solutions put into place during the housing recession and create a permanent and sustainable mortgage finance system that restores more balance between public and private credit risk."
The Bipartisan Policy Center Housing Commission is co-chaired by BPC co-founder and former Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell, former Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, former Sen. and HUD Secretary Mel Martinez, and former HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros, and includes 17 other individuals from diverse professional and political backgrounds.
In August, Zillow hosted President Barack Obama to discuss housing issues, and the president answered questions directly from consumers submitted via social media, including a number focused on GSE reform. Last month, Humphries also sat down with Sens. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., and Mark Warner, D-Va., co-sponsors of Senate Bill 1217, legislation also looking to tackle GSE reform. Video of both events is also available on Zillow.
The entire conversation can be seen here.
Keywords for this news article include: Mortgages, Fannie Mae, Zillow Inc, Freddie Mac, Real Estate, Legal Issues, Banking and Finance.
Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2013, NewsRx LLC
Zillow and the Bipartisan Policy Center to Host Housing Forum in Washington, D.C.
Zillow, Inc.
Economics Week
Copyright 2013 Economics Week via NewsRx.com
October 25, 2013
Section: Expanded Reporting
Zillow and the Bipartisan Policy Center to Host Housing Forum in Washington, D.C.
Zillow, Inc.
2013 OCT 25 (VerticalNews) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Economics Week -- After more than five years of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conservatorship, now is the time to move past the temporary fixes that were put in place during the crisis and create a functional and sustainable housing finance system. But with so many plans being put forward, it can be confusing for consumers to understand how changes to the mortgage finance system might affect them. What is in store for the future of mortgage finance? How will the reform of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) evolve with the housing recovery?
To answer some of these questions, Zillow®, the leading real estate information marketplace, along with the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) will host a full-day event entitled "Getting Our House in Order: Solving the Lingering Issues of the Housing Recession," Thursday, Oct. 24 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C.
Full details of the Washington, D.C., event are below, and guests can register for this free forum at http://zillow-bpc-housing-forum.eventbrite.com/. The event is open to the press. More information and updates about speakers can be found at www.zillow.com/blog/category/housing-forum.
Getting Our House in Order: Solving the Lingering Issues of the Housing Recession Oct. 24, 2013, 9:30 a.m. - 4 p.m.
The Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center
Keywords for this news article include: Mortgage, Economics, Zillow Inc, Real Estate, International Trade.
Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world. Copyright 2013, NewsRx LLC
---- INDEX REFERENCES ----
COMPANY: FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION FANNIE MAE; ZILLOW INC; ELTON SA; FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORP
INDUSTRY: (Consumer Finance (1CO55); Mortgage Banking (1MO85); Retail Banking Services (1RE38); Subprime Lending (1SU05); Banking (1BA20); Housing (1HO38); Real Estate (1RE57); Financial Services (1FI37); Residential Real Estate (1RE67))
REGION: (U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region (1MI18); District of Columbia (1DI60); USA (1US73); Americas (1AM92); North America (1NO39))
LANGUAGE: EN
OTHER INDEXING: (NEWSRX LLC)
Smaller Bid;Limit;Straddle;Watch Closely
Komondo,
Can I suggest to set a stop limit to limit losses.
Or make a smaller bid to minimize risk.
Or enter a straddle. Profit will be less but risk will be less.
Or watch closely. If loss limit is reached, sell and purchase calls.
Reid announces deal
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), speaking on the Senate floor, struck a triumphant note as he announced a bipartisan deal with Senate Republicans.
“In the end, political adversaries set aside their disagreements to prevent that disaster,” Reid said of a potential government default.
Reid said the plan will appoint conferees to a budget conference committee, led by Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Parry Murray (D-Wash.) and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
Reid also confirmed the government would be funded through Jan. 15 and the debt ceiling would be lifted until Feb. 7.
Reid, McConnell launch bipartisan talks on ending shutdown
By Rosalind S. Helderman, Jeff Simon and Zachary Goldfarb, Updated: Saturday, October 12, 4:06 PM E-mail the writers
Senate leaders launched talks Saturday aimed at reopening federal agencies and avoiding a government default, but they were at loggerheads over a demand by Democrats to cancel deep automatic spending cuts known as the sequester.
With the government shutdown now in its 12th day and the risk of a default on the national debt looming later this month, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) requested a meeting with Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) to discuss a proposal developed by rank and file Republicans led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) addressed the shutdown during a press conference on Capitol Hill on Saturday, saying Susan Collins's plan to end the shutdown and extend the debt ceiling is "not going to go any place."
During an hourlong session in Reid's office, the Democratic leader rejected that proposal, which called for raising the federal debt limit until Jan. 31 and funding federal agencies through the end of March. It also called for minor adjustments to President Obama’s signature health-care initiative as a “fig leaf” to help build Republican support.
Democrats objected to both the brevity of the debt-limit increase and the inclusion of health-care provisions. But their main concern, they said, was the proposal to keep the sequester cuts in place for fiscal 2014, leaving agency spending on track to be roughly $70 billion lower than Democrats have proposed.
“The difference between the Senate and House budget numbers .?.?. is really the single biggest sticking point,” said Sen. Richard J. Durbing (D-Ill.), the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate.
McConnell, for his part, has cast the sequester as a victory for Republicans that he would go to great lengths to defend. The cuts are part of a deal struck during the 2011 debt-limit fight to cut $2.1 trillion from agency budgets over the next decade.
Republicans say they will not give up those cuts without equivalent cuts to entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare. Democrats, however, have been insistent that any plan to replace the sequester cuts should include higher tax revenue.
Until that happens, Reid told reporters, the Collins plan “is not going to go anyplace at this stage.”
Reid and other Democratic leaders said they were nonetheless grateful that McConnell sought the meeting, which also included Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.). The fact that the two leaders have taken over negotiations suggests an intensifying desire in both parties to end the fiscal impasse.
“There is a reason to believe that ultimately we will work it out,” Durbin sasid.
Still, no additional talks between the parties were scheduled Saturday. As Democratic leaders prepared to head to the White House for a meeting with the president, Reid was asked whether an agreement could be reached by the end of the day.
“I doubt it,” he said.
The talks came as Senate Republicans, as expected, blocked a Democratic plan to raise the federal debt limit for more than a year with no strings attached. On a party-line vote, the measure failed to muster the 60 votes needed to avoid a Republican filibuster.
If a deal were struck, the measure could be revived to serve as the procedural vehicle for passing a comprehensive package to reopen the government and raise the debt limit. But unless every member of the Senate agreed— including conservative firebrands such as Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) — it would take until at least midweek to clear the Senate.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/boehner-tells-house-gop-negotiations-have-ended/2013/10/12/fa0d3f42-334a-11e3-9c68-1cf643210300_story.html?tid=pm_pop
Are Markets Open All Day Monday or Half?
Any Good Information On Day Trading SPY?
Where is a good place to learn about day trading SPY? I have paper traded with some success but want to refine my skills.
Many Stock Charts Look Like FNMA's Today.
I played several stocks on paper today and it was mostly bad.
1st Resistence is $1.46. 2nd is $1.62.
IMO General Mkts will be Down
FnF may not change more than a penny or two due to a shut down. This stock moves on news, volume, big player moves, etc. FnF does not seem to move with the over all markets.
Gov. Cannot Advocate A Stock Ownership
If anyone is waiting for U.S. to say FnF is a solid investment with a great future, it will never happen. Government cannot advocate for any stock ownership.
Do your own DD and play accordingly.
Buflo
Popcorn Ready For The Short Cover Show!
And what a show it will be. Don't leave your computer for intermission. Emergency exits are available by selling your position. But do remember these exits are for emergency only. Restrooms are at the rear of the theater. Please obey the "No Smoking" signs. Relax and enjoy the show. Previews are playing now.
I am waiting in line for my ticket now.
Gov. Shutdown For 3 Days In 1995
Most employees were compensated for the days off. Clinton was the person who shut the Government down right in the middle of the work day.
The Government almost shut down last October. Instead, most agencies furloughed employees for several days over the course of several months. Those furlough days were not compensated. I would expect furlough days again this year and not a total shutdown.
The Government starts with the worst case and then mitigates the damage to a more acceptable level. Uncle O. would like to cut Government wages and furlough days are one way of accomplishing that end.
I would not consider a Government shutdown when considering my play with FnF. Look at news, volume, RSI, MACD, PSAR and the amount you are willing to risk for the gain you expect.
I do think we have a little bit of time before any significant FnF news comes out.
Gov. Shutdown is Uncertain
The Gov. shutdown is not certain as of yet. The Gov. is required to announce a potential shut down ahead of time. The courts can definitely be effected. Typically public parks, monuments and museums shut down first. There is no telling what other services will be effected.
MH It Is Out There. Keep Reading.
Gapped Up! Now Run Please!
Who's On First. This Says It Well
Why Conservatorship? Read the Red Words
Asset Securitization Report
Copyright Asset Securitization Report. All rights Reserved.
September 13, 2013
Volume 1; Issue 1
Section: Featured Articles
Why Former Investors Despair of Returning to RMBS
David Fiderer
"The private RMBS market was at the heart of the financial panic and the Great Recession that followed," writes Mark Zandi of Moody's Analytics. Indeed. At year-end 2007, private RMBS totaled $2.2 trillion. According to Zandi's tally, those bonds realized losses, during the 2006-2012 period, of $449 billion. That amount exceeded the total losses on $9 trillion of mortgage debt financed by everyone else, all depository institutions and all government-backed lenders, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Also, Zandi excludes synthetic subprime collateralized debt obligations, which financed nothing tangible and which lost more money than Fannie and Freddie combined.
More pointedly, the heart of the financial panic and the Great Recession that followed was an epidemic of fraud and sloppy recordkeeping facilitated by the originate-to-distribute model for private RMBS. Parties complicit in fraud – borrowers, mortgage brokers, originators, rating agencies, investment banks and servicers – calculated that the odds of being held fully accountable were close to nil. That assessment has stood the test of time.
How bad was the fraud? The Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that, in the bubble states at the peak of the market, "almost half of purchase mortgage originations were associated with investors. In part by apparently misreporting their intentions to occupy the property, investors took on more leverage, contributing to higher rates of default." Fitch reviewed the documentation of a small sample of subprime loans in default in late 2007, and found some kind of misrepresentation in almost every file. In early 2007, before home prices began to tank, BasePoint Analytics found that 70% of early payment defaults were tied to mortgage fraud.
Consider what U.S. Bank, N.A., a trustee of one Countrywide RMBS deal, HarborView Mortgage Loan Trust 2005-10, uncovered after it hired an underwriting consultant to review some nonperforming loans. The consultant looked at a small but meaningful sample, 786 loans out of total pool of 4,484 mortgages, and found that two-thirds of the loan sample, 520 out of 786, contained one or more breaches of representations and warranties. About 90% of those breaches involved fraud or violations of Countrywide's underwriting guidelines.
But U.S. Bank could not review every loan file. Remember, reps and warrants – which traditionally claim that no document in connection with the transaction contains untrue statements of material fact – have been used as the primary source of legal comfort that the seller stands behind the purported accuracy of loan files in a pool of 2,000 mortgages.
However, to get access to the loan files, investors generally need to attain a certain percentage of votes among investors, and that takes time and lobbying. And then it takes time to actually review the files. Both banks and trustees have been uncooperative in past cases.
The current owner of Countrywide, Bank of America, rejected the notion that aggrieved investors might be able to review loan samples for 530 other Countrywide deals, which were originally worth $424 billion and are now expected to lose about $100 billion. According to courtroom testimony, one B of A lawyer said that type of statistical sampling could involve hundreds of thousands of loan files, so that "our grandchildren would have grandchildren before a trust would receive a dollar of recovery."
B of A calculates the average Countrywide defect rate to be 36%, which is good enough for bond trustee Bank of New York Mellon, which has refused to review the actual loan files. If investors failed to accept B of A's $8.5 billion take-it-or-leave-it offer for settlement of all putback claims, the bank reportedly told investors it would put its Countrywide subsidiary into Chapter 11.
As for seeking recourse under federal securities laws, RMBS investors face daunting challenges. To bring a lawsuit, a plaintiff needs to show what statements in the public disclosures were false or inaccurate within three years of the initial offering. But, once again, it's frequently hard to get access to incriminating loan data.
Poor record-keeping by all parties also provides barriers to pursuing and winning litigation. And how bad was recordkeeping? Nevada's experience suggests that it was really bad. Once the state passed a law making parties criminally liable for committing fraud as part of a foreclosure process, home foreclosures came to a virtual standstill. A coincidence?
Two RMBS investors, Fannie and Freddie, were fortunate, because their regulator could access data more easily, and because the Home Equity and Recovery Act of 2008 states that, for the government-sponsored enterprises, the statute of limitations begins to run when they are taken into conservatorship.
If Washington wants to reform housing finance, it should bolster investor protections by extending statutes of limitations for securities fraud, and by mandating greater investor access to loan files related to any mortgage default.
David Fiderer has previously worked in energy banking for more than 20 years. He is currently working on a book about the rating agencies. This article originally appeard in the American Banker.
Where Are The Bros Of Lehman Brothers?
International Business Times News
Copyright 2013 International Business Times News
September 14, 2013
Where Are The Bros Of Lehman Brothers? [INFOGRAPHIC]
Lisa Mahapatra
Sep 14, 2013
Mere months after the subprime mortgage market brought down Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in 2008, Richard S. Fuld Jr., the bank's former chairman and CEO, referred to himself as "the most hated man in America," at a party hosted by James A. Johnson, the former head of the Federal National Mortgage Association (OTCBB:FNMA), or Fannie Mae.
Fuld wasn't wrong. He'd played fast and loose with a lot of people's money, lost it all and was the perfect scapegoat for all of America to pin its economic troubles on.
Back in 2007, when the subprime mortgage market first began to stumble, in an email to the bank's then chief strategy officer David Goldfarb, Fuld wrote, "I agree we need some help-but the BRos always wins!"
His words were the opposite of prophetic. When Lehman Brothers collapsed, it took Fuld's career down with it. And he wasn't the only one -- former Chief Operating Officer Joseph M. Gregory and former Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan haven't worked in finance for years now.
Here's what happened to the bros of Lehman Brothers:
What happened to the bros of Lehman Brothers? International Business Times/Lisa Mahapatra
RSI, MACD,Volume, Positive News Are All Gamechangers
A return to the 3 month bottom is looked at differently, if other factors have changed.
******RUN*********
Quote:
______________________
***** BOUNCE *****
______________________
Today's Shares Are The Cheapest I Bought Yet
Gov Will Retain % of Revenue When All Is Done
Government is looking for a piece of FnF revenue. They will get it through a % of revenue that will be the back stop to any future housing problems. Since no problems seem to be on the horizon, Gov. has the funds to use as it pleases until there is a housing crisis.
FnF cannot be dissolved since they are not in receivership. Conservator cannot dissolve a profitable corporation.
My opinion for the morning. Nice day everyone.
+1 Links are a great idea.
Buflo
Congress is Back on 9/9
The only problem is the Syrian crisis. Congress' attention is focused on the Syrian crisis this week. The problem is, war takes precedent over every other decision of government. The national deficit can even be put on the back burner, if war is considered a larger priority.
Biggest Fish I Ever Caught Felt Like Weeds=FnF
The biggest fish I ever caught, felt like I was caught in a weed bed. Put the boat in reverse and started reeling in slowly. Much to my surprise there was a tug and then a yell for the net and then the biggest fish I ever caught. (That is a true story of St. Lawrence River)
Much like I hope my story of FnF to turn out.
BTW: Patience with fishing built up my patience for FnF.
Will Definitely Post To Glout When Winning.
Long FNMA
MH has kept me realistic about FnF
I am Long FnF with risk money, but MH has kept me realistic. He balances out the "to da moon" posts.
Retest 1.00 How Long? 10 minutes.
FNMA may retest $1.00 in a flurry of selling and then buying. But I will guess it will test it for about 10 minutes and retail will never get one share at that level.
I am waiting for that day to happen and will be watching my computer with popcorn ready for the show.
IMO. Have a nice weekend.
Probably Accounted Against Earnings On 8/8 IMO
Buy Order Placed
Fairholme Needs Customers
Fairholme opened his fund to new customers. Fairholme also announced a possible larger stake in FnF. Is it possible Fairholme is looking for FnF shareholders to drop their retail shares and join the Fairholme fund? An article out recently about whether it is a good bet to invest in the Fairholme fund, made me think about this.
Detearing is a Grandapa! Congratulations!
Some good news. Enjoy the baby.
I stay off this board more now, since the noise is confusing my trading decisions.
Buflo
A Few Good Stickies Would Decrease Repetition In Questions
I am seeing some of the same questions come up. New members join this board and do not know the history. There is really complete information on the narrative part of this board, but maybe a few specific stickies would help.
Request Post To Be Stickied If You Like It
Obummer want FnF profits legally or Illegally
Obummer wind down means any means that will allow him to take profit from current FnF investments.
No Buyers, But How Many Eyes On FnF?
Nice Analysis Mr. Fence!