U.S. Wants BofA To Pay $864M Over Bad Loans: WSJ

WASHINGTON –  The U.S. government wants Bank of America to pay a penalty of $864 million for bad mortgages made from August 2007 until April 2008 and purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , according to a [l:Wall Street Journalstory|http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304448204579187942897087218|NEW] that ran Saturday. The mortgages were part of a program called "Hustle," which aimed to quickly make loans that were then sold to government sponsored enterprises Fannie and Freddie, according to the Journal's story. The government said the sought penalty amount would cover Fannie and Freddie's gross losses from "Hustle," according to the story. "Hustle" was created by Countrywide, which Bank of America purchased in 2008.

Via Fox Business
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U.S. housing regulators seek over $6 billion from BofA: FT

(Reuters) - U.S. housing regulators are looking to fine Bank of America more than $6 billion for its role in misleading mortgage agencies during the housing boom, compared with the $4 billion to be paid by JPMorgan Chase & Co, the Financial Times reported on its website, citing people familiar with the matter.

The FT said the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), pursuing claims on behalf of finance agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that back about half the existing U.S. home loans, are seeking the penalty. (link.reuters.com/muc93v)

FHFA and Bank of America (BofA) could not be reached for comment outside of regular businesshours.

Countrywide Financial Corp, the mortgage lender acquired by BofA in July 2008, has cost the bank more than $40 billion in litigation expenses and other charges linked to its bad subprime mortgages. The bank set aside an additional $300 million for mortgage litigation in the latest quarter.

JPMorgan reached a tentative $4 billion deal with the FHFA on Friday to settle claims that the bank misled government-sponsored mortgage agencies about the quality of mortgages it sold them, according to a person familiar with the matter.

JPMorgan also reached a tentative $13 billion deal with the U.S. Justice Department and other government agencies to settle investigations into bad mortgage loans the bank sold to investors before the financial crisis, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters on Saturday.

Via: Reuters

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Obama Campaign Borrows $15M from Bank of America

Warren Buffett invested $5B in BofA last year

Obama For America took out a $15 million loan from Bank of America last month, according to the campaign’s October monthly FEC report. The loan was incurred on September 4 and is due November 14, eight days after the election. OFA received an interest rate of 2.5% plus the current Libor rate.

Warren Buffett, Obama donor and namesake of the infamous “Buffett Rule,” invested $5 billion in Bank of America last year in an effort to help the ailing financial institution. Last month, two weeks after OFA took out the loan, Bank of America announced a plan that would lay off 16,000 workers by the end of the year.

Obama has a complicated relationship with Bank of America. The bank contributed $20 million toward the cost of the Democrat National Convention earlier this year. Bank of America stadium, home to the Carolina Panthers, was supposed to host Obama’s acceptance speech. At the last moment, the campaign switched to a significantly smaller venue. The campaign claimed that an impending storm would not allow the President to deliver his address. Many questioned whether move was made because the campaign was having trouble filling such a large stadium.

It is unclear why the first $1 billion campaign needed an extra $15 million for the final two months of the campaign.

Via: WFB

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Obama Has Left The Economy And The Middle Class Buried Under The Weight Of His Failed Policies

OBAMA HAS PRESIDED OVER A RECORD PERIOD OF ECONOMIC STAGNATION

Since Obama Took Office, The Nation Has Lost 61,000 Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Remained At Or Above 7.8 Percent (What The Rate Was When Obama Took Office) For 45 Straight Months. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

• Jim Pethokoukis: "10.7%: Unemployment Rate If Labor Force Participation Rate Was The Same As When Obama Took Office" (Jim Pethokoukis, Twitter Feed, 10/5/12)
• By This Point Obama's Advisers Predicted The Unemployment Rate Would Be Near 5.4 Percent. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein, "The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan," 1/9/09)

• Under Obama, The Nation Has Lost 1,035,000 Construction Jobs And 610,000 Manufacturing Jobs. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

• The Manufacturing Sector Shed 16,000 Jobs In September And 22,000 Jobs In August. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

Former Obama Council Of Economic Advisers Chairman Austan Goolsbee Said The Jobs Numbers "Need To Be A Lot Better." FORMER OBAMA COUNCIL OF ECONOMIC ADVISERS CHAIRMAN AUSTAN GOOLSBEE: "You want to take multiple months to take an average, that's far more accurate than any one month. If you look at the last few months, it's been okay. We should take some heart in that the numbers are improving but they're not improving fast enough. They need to be a lot better. I mean if you look around the world, I think one of the things to note is, we're not growing that fast, and we're one of the fastest growing of all the advanced countries. This is a pretty tough spot that the entire advanced economic world is in, especially in Europe, and so that's just a big weight that we're trying to get off. We're making slow progress but it's got to be faster." (CNBC's "Squawk Box," 10/5/12)

• "The Economy Is Growing At The Same Sluggish Pace It Has Been Since The Spring." "Those figures are roughly in line with economists' forecasts, and although the revisions were positive, the economy is growing at the same sluggish pace it has been since the spring." (Annalyn Censky, "September Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Tumbles," CNNMoney, 10/5/12)
• "The Country Generally Needs At Least 150,000 New Jobs Each Month Just To Keep Up With Population Growth." (Annalyn Censky, "September Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Tumbles," CNNMoney, 10/5/12)
• "That's Hardly Fast Enough To Recover All The Jobs Lost Since 2007." "That's hardly fast enough to recover all the jobs lost since 2007. Of the 8.8 million jobs cut during the recession, about 4.3 million have been added back. The Labor Department signaled last week that it may revise the job gains higher, but even so, the job market still has a long way to go before it's fully healed." (Annalyn Censky, "September Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate Tumbles," CNNMoney, 10/5/12)

CNBC's Brian Sullivan: "It's Not Good News For The Economy." CNBC'S BRIAN SULLIVAN: "It's not good news for the economy because as we've talked about you really need 125,000 jobs created a month to keep up with population and immigration growth." (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 10/5/12)

• Sullivan: "The Labor Force Participation Rate At 65.6% Rate Is Awful." MSNBC'S JOE SCARBOROUGH: "Again just to push back with you though, Brian, the only reason that number went down below 8 is because, not because we're adding jobs to bring the unemployment rate down but because people have stopped looking for work, right? CNBC'S BRIAN SULLIVAN: "I agree with that, the labor force participation rate at 65.6% rate is awful." (MSNBC's "Morning Joe," 10/5/12)

The Average Duration Of Unemployment Has More Than Doubled From 19.8 Weeks To 39.8 Weeks. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

• There Are Currently 802,000 Unemployed Workers That Have Given Up Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

The Real Unemployment Rate, Including Those That Are Working Part-Time Due To Economic Reasons, Is At 14.7 Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

There Are Currently 23.2 Million Americans That Are Either Unemployed, Underemployed Or Have Given Up Looking For Work. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

• There Are Currently 12.1 Million Unemployed Workers. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)
• The Number Of Workers Working Part-Time For Economic Reasons Is 8.6 Million. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)
• There Number Of Workers Marginally Attached To The Labor Force Is 2.5 Million. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, Accessed 10/5/12)

 Via: GOP.com

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Dems in hock to SEIU-owned bank

Classic crony capitalism from the Democrats.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) owes at least $8 million to a bank owned by one of the largest unions in the country, according to the committee's most recent financial report.

The DNC initiated an $8 million loan with the Amalgamated Bank of New York on Aug. 10, the report shows, accounting for the majority of the committee's overall debt of $11 million.

Amalgamated Bank, often described as "America's Labor Bank," is a national entity, the majority of which is owned by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), a politically active union with deep ties to the Democratic Party. The SEIU is also involved with the Democracy Alliance, a shadowy group of wealthy left-wing donors founded by billionaire investor George Soros.

The bank announced in an August press release that the DNC had "moved its primary banking relationship" to Amalgamated Bank, which would handle the committee's "day-to-day banking needs."

The DNC had previously done most of its banking with Bank of America, which helped finance the Democratic convention in Charlotte.

DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz hailed the transition to Amalgamated Bank, and noted the longstanding political and financial ties between the two organizations.

The committee, she said, had a "fiduciary responsibility to those who invest in our party."

"It is critical that we honor their efforts to strengthen our infrastructure and build our organization by partnering with an institution that shares our commitment to standing with America's working families and small businesses," she said in a press release.

Via: American Thinker (BLOG)

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