Signs Of The Time, Part 30
Going for the trifecta tonight…
From the Associated Press yesterday:
Reported incidents of mortgage fraud grew by 45% in the second quarter compared to the year-ago period, as borrowers misstated their financial information to maneuver around tighter lending standards, industry data released Tuesday showed.
Florida properties led the way with about one-fifth of mortgage fraud incidents reported in the second quarter, the Mortgage Asset Research Institute reported. California was second, and Illinois third, the data showed.
Mortgage fraud incident reports had increased 42% in this year’s first quarter, compared to the first quarter of 2007.
The largest increase in mortgage fraud in the first half of this year involved borrowers misstating their financial profile, which is not surprising as borrowers try to get around stricter lending guidelines, the report said…
Some basic examples of fraud included false bank statements made on computers and pay stubs with white correction liquid on them, said Jennifer Butts, the institute’s director of operations…
The metro areas of Miami and Tampa were one-two in Florida for mortgage fraud. In California, Los Angeles and San Francisco led the way. Chicago and Rockford were tops in Illinois.
My kind of town, Chicago is…
Also from the Associated Press yesterday:
Sgt. Ryan Nyhus spent 14 months patrolling the deadly streets of Baghdad, where five members of his platoon were shot and one died. As bad as that was, he would rather go back there than take his chances in this brutal job market.
Nyhus re-enlisted last Wednesday, and in so doing joined the growing ranks of those choosing to stay in the U.S. military because of the bleak economy.
“In the Army, you’re always guaranteed a steady paycheck and a job,” said the 21-year-old Nyhus. “Deploying’s something that’s going to happen. That’s a fact of life in the Army- a fact of life in the infantry.”
In 2008, as the stock market cratered and the housing market collapsed, more young members of the Army, Air Force and Navy decided to re-up. While several factors might explain the rise in re-enlistments, including a decline in violence in Iraq, Pentagon officials acknowledge that bad news for the economy is usually good news for the military.
In fact, the Pentagon just completed its strongest recruiting year in four years.
Just in time, as I hear the Pentagon was about to bust out that old recruiting commercial from the late seventies/early eighties in hopes of boosting numbers. “Pick a service, pick a challenge. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. We don’t ask for experience, we give it.”
From Bloomberg’s Adam Cataldo and Jeremy Cooke earlier today:
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey attracted no bids from investment banks interested in underwriting a $300 million taxable note offering in another sign that the seizure in credit markets persists.
The three-year notes, backed by revenue from the bi-state agency that operates airports, river crossings and transit in the New York City area, were placed up for competitive sale this morning. The deal carried the highest short-term ratings from Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s and Fitch Ratings and would have been the largest of its kind in eight months.
“It’s astonishing,” said Fred Yosca, managing director and head of trading at BNY Mellon Capital Markets in New York. “A household name, like the Port Authority, not being able to get a bid is truly a sign of a market that is in distress.”
States and cities have struggled to sell bonds through advertised bidding in recent months, as underwriters focus on lining up individual investors in negotiated deals ahead of time to avoid getting stuck with too many unsold securities.
One economist today suggested that the situation was the financial equivalent of Warren Buffett not being able to get a $20 million loan…
Sources:
“Mortgage fraud incidents up 45%”
Associated Press, December 2, 2008
“US soldiers re-enlisting because of poor economy”
Associated Press, December 2, 2008
“Port Authority Gets No Bids for Taxable Bond Offering (Update3)”
Adam L. Cataldo, Jeremy R. Cooke
Bloomberg, December 3, 2008
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