By Numerian How the banks could inflict such damage on the country’s home title and mortgage registry system would take another investigation by Congress to determine – assuming Congress was interested.
The Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems company (known as MERS), which has been at the center of legal problems affecting the securitization of home mortgages and foreclosures, has given up one of its principal corporate objectives. It is now instructing its members to cease foreclosing on residential properties in the name of MERS, and to begin immediately to register all assignments of mortgages with local county recorders of deeds. (Image)
The whole purpose of MERS when it was established in 1996 was to by-pass the county recording process, and the billions of dollars of fees that banks and mortgage companies would have had to pay to comply with state and local real estate laws. MERS operated on a legal assumption that it could have its cake and eat it too, by acting as an agent for its member banks in their real estate transactions, but also acting if necessary as a principal in its own name when it came to assigning mortgages and foreclosing on properties.
Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke gave one hell of a speech at the G-20 implying emerging economies are to blame their own inflation and currency manipulation could lead to another global financial crisis.
Firstly, Bernanke's speech, Global Imbalances: Links to Economic and Financial Stability, is reprinted below, in it's entirety. The reason to reprint the speech in total is too many in the press are interpreting his speech, many incorrectly, so I suggest reading what he said directly first.
Cheese head land, Wisconsin, is exploding in protest. Why? The Republican governor, Scott Walker, is trying to union bust, all in an effort to dump their $3 billion dollar budget shortfall on the laps of workers.
The BLS released real earnings and wages. This is hourly and weekly earnings where inflation has been removed. It gives the real purchasing power of wages relatively over time as well as shows if wages have kept up with inflation.
The Consumer Price Index for January 2011 increased 0.4% from last month. For the year, the Consumer Price Index for all Urban Consumers (CPI-U) has risen 1.6%. December CPI was revised to 0.4%.
Rolling Stone investigative Journalist Matt Taibbi has done it again, writing a knock down, drag out piece asking Why Isn't Wall Street in Jail? It becomes evident if you are rich, acting behind the cover of a corporation, you can get away with pretty much anything. Regular poor people, stealing a bike or a purse, you're going to jail with a felony conviction and a fine larger than your income.
The Federal Reserve's Factory Production report shows a -0.1% decrease, for January 2011 in Industrial Production. Here is their detailed report. December had a 1.2% increase in industrial production, revised.
It's Friday Night! Party Time! Time to relax, put your feet up on the couch, lay back, and watch some detailed videos on economic policy!
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