Tight-fisted mortgage lenders pressure home sales

Home prices have fallen by a third since 2006, creating tremendous bargains for home buyers. Mortgage rates are at rock-bottom lows, making houses more affordable than they have been in decades.

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Banks square in mortgage fraud crosshairs again

In the Wild West of the ongoing mortgage mess, there’s a new sheriff in town.

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Foreclosures keep pushing house prices lower

The ongoing wave of foreclosures continues to drag home prices lower. Foreclosure-related properties, which made up roughly one in five home sales in the third quarter of  last year, sold for an average 34 percent less than homes that were not  “distressed sales,& …

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Here's what the Fed's 'new transparency' looks like

  They're not exactly PowerPoints, but the Federal Reserve Wednesday adopted a new "fuller disclosure" policy that comes with visual aids. The first chart represents the number of members of the central bank’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee who expect …

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Fed adds more punch to low-rate pledge

New normal, meet the new Fed. The Federal Reserve took two major new steps Wednesday to assure businesses and consumers that it intends to keep borrowing costs at record low levels for the foreseeable future – at least three years. For the first time in its 94-year history …

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Proposed mortgage settlement offers little relief for homeowners

A proposed $25 billion settlement between five big banks, state attorneys general and the Obama administration may help resolve some of the thornier legal issues surrounding the mortgage mess that caused the housing market to collapse. It will do relatively little to stop the ong …

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Fed's Open Market Committee getting a lot more open

If you’ve ever fancied yourself as a “Fed watcher” — one of those analysts who read the tea leaves of the central bank’s next move — the job is about to get a whole lot easier. Building on a move toward greater “transparency” that& …

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Home buying could soon beat renting

By John W. Schoen, Senior Producer   Falling home prices have sent many would-be buyers to the sidelines.

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Greek bond deal won't fix Athens' debt woes

  Though a long-awaited deal between Greece and its investors might buy Athens some time, it will do little to fix the financially crippled government's problems. Representatives for Greek bond holders were reported to have made progress Friday toward a deal that would cut  …

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Factories rev up, but hiring doesn't

A healthy pickup in production of manufactured goods last month added to the gathering momentum for the U.S. economy. So far, that growth has done little to help the job prospects for the millions of factory workers still sidelined by the 2007 recession. U.S.

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Banks rely on lending as trading profits shrink

The nation’s biggest banks are getting back to the business of writing loans to businesses and consumers after another year of dismal returns from in-house investment trading. That increased lending, by itself, won’t add much to future economic growth, though, at leas …

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Eurozone slammed by credit downgrades, collapse of Greek bond talks

Friday the 13th was not a good day for Europe. In the midst of the European trading day, news began circulating that credit agency Standard and Poor's would downgrade many eurozone countries, including France, Italy and Spain.

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Jobs gains may not help Obama's re-election bid

The recent improvement in the job market comes as welcome news for President Obama as he struggles to answer GOP attacks on the campaign trail that he’s mismanaged the economic recovery.

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Euro hit by fresh warnings of debt downgrades

As European leaders prepare for yet another summit at the end of the month to resolve a widening debt crisis, they got a dire warning Wednesday that one more round of promised solutions won’t be enough to head off a financial calamity. The call came from the head of Fitch,  …

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Four job seekers for every opening, report shows

The government offered fresh data Tuesday showing that the job market is gradually improving.

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GOP plan: No HS diploma? No unemployment check

Out of work and without a high school diploma? If you’re collecting unemployment insurance, you may soon be out of luck. As Congress returns from the holiday recess, one of the most pressing items on its agenda will the two-month extension of jobless benefits enacted late l …

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As home prices fall, more borrowers walk away

When David Martin and his wife bought their north Seattle condo five years ago, they figured they had plenty of time to downsize if they needed to before they retired. Now, with the property worth roughly $60,000 less than the balance of their mortgage, Martin, 68, has been …

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With 13 million still out of work, jobs crisis not yet over

Friday’s strengthening employment data good news for anyone looking for a job.

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Better jobs data a mixed blessing for Obama

President Barack Obama's claim that his economic policies are helping put Americans back to work got a shot in the arm Friday when government data showed the nation's jobless rate dropped to the lowest level in three years. "We have made real progress," Obama said Friday&nb …

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Small business leading job market back

Small businesses are in a hiring sort of mood. Take Tammy Krings, owner of the Travel Solutions agency based in Columbus, Ohio.

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Obama defies GOP by naming new consumer watchdog

The long-delayed start of a new consumer protection bureau took a major step forward Wednesday when the White House defied Congressional Republicans who had been holding out for changes that consumer advocates say would have substantially weakened the agency. President Barack Ob …

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Stocks surge in new year's rally, boosted by economic news

The stock market kicked off the new year with a bang by posting solid gains on the first trading day of 2012 as investors sent their cash back to work in hopes that an improving U.S.

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John W. Schoen

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Member Since: 5/2008Last Seen: 1/29/2012

John W. Schoen has reported and written about business and financial news for more than 30 years.

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