George Joseph is bankrolling Proposition 17 on the June ballot, saying it’s about lowering rates for California drivers. Not everyone agrees. I spent nearly two hours last Friday in the office of Mercury Insurance Chairman George Joseph. He seemed like a nice guy, but half an hour into it, my head was spinning. Joseph...
Monthly Archives: February 2010
New wave of foreclosures by end of 2010 is feared
Reporting from Washington – Experts fear that a new wave of foreclosures will hit this year as prolonged unemployment makes it difficult for millions of homeowners to pay their mortgages — and many of them aren’t likely to get much help from a federal program aimed at keeping them in their houses. Banks participating...
Santa Clara County foreclosures spike
After taking a break for the holidays, foreclosures spiked in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties in January. Despite efforts by the federal government and lenders to help people stay in their homes, foreclosures rose 37 percent in Santa Clara County last month from December, and 71 percent in San Mateo County, according to...
ING misses expectations, no insurance IPO this year
Q4 loss 712 million euros vs forecast 306 mln loss * Charges for aid repayment offset bank profits * Assumption changes drive surprise insurance loss * Start of insurance disposal unlikely this year * Shares up 4.6 pct, outperform banking sector (Adds press conference, Breakingviews column) By Ben Berkowitz AMSTERDAM, Feb 17 (Reuters) –...
Why The US Housing Market Will Remain Under Pressure
I have maintained and continue to maintain that unless and until we see a measurable decline in mortgage delinquencies, we will not truly experience a measurable turn in the tide for housing overall. In this same vein, new studies project that measures taken to aid delinquent borrowers and to stem the tide of foreclosures...
US banks take hit to clear home loan books
Big US banks including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are moving to clear their books of troubled mortgages by embracing “short sales”, in which homeowners settle debts by selling their properties for less than the mortgage value. Short sales are expected to climb sharply this year as home values continue...
Homebuyer Tax Credit Warms up Spring Home Sales
Record snows may still clog driveways and carpet lawns with ice but the spring real estate market is kicking off across the country earlier than normal as buyers push to make the April 30 tax credit deadline. It’s worth $8,000 to first-time buyers and $6,500 to existing owners to get a contract on a...
Co-Pay Rising: Is your health insurance plan useless? Five signs that it might be
When does having health insurance offer you no greater protection against financial ruin than having none at all? This isn’t a riddle or some joke with a witty punch line. This is a serious question that all health care consumers need to ponder. The sad truth is that any health insurance – even a...
Beware Fake Health Insurance
(CBS) Consumer advocates say health insurance scams are growing at an alarming rate in the tough economy, and operating in nearly every state. “People are suffering devastating financial losses,” James Quiggle, of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud tells CBS News. “They are looking for a better health insurance deal. Swindlers love this kind of...
Federal Reserve moves to benefit mortgage-seekers
Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, suggested in testimony to be delivered to Congress, that the Fed is not likely to “sell any of its securities holdings in the near term, at least until after policy tightening has gotten under way and the economy is clearly in a sustainable recovery.” The recent purchase,...
