Leading Senator Wants New Fed Governors Committed To Full Transparency, Consumer Protection (LETTER) – … Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) expresses his concern about the two current vacancies on the Fed’s seven-member Board of Governors … With the three vacancies, President Obama can shape the direction of the Fed for years to come. .. he refers to the openings as the equivalent of openings on the U.S. Supreme Court — is pushing for nominees who will fill gaps in areas he feels have been ignored .. – Huffington Post
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Politics, shaky economy create no rush to restructure Fannie and Freddie – By Zachary A. Goldfarb – As recently as December, the Obama administration said it expected to release a preliminary report … around Feb. 1. But no plan was produced, … Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner clarified last month that it would be another year before the government proposes how to restructure the firms. - Washington Post
FHA considers down payment requirements – By Dina ElBoghdady - … The higher down payment would have contributed a modest $500 million to the agency’s cash reserves in fiscal 2011, Stevens said. By contrast, a series of policy changes embraced by the FHA would raise an additional $4.1 billion, Stevens said. Those changes include a newly adopted rule that will raise the upfront fee that borrowers pay from 1.75 percent of the loan value to 2.25 percent starting April 15 and a proposal that would require at least a 10 percent down payment from FHA borrowers with credit scores of less than 580. … Washington Post
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Is the FDIC Solvent? – … What is interesting is that Sheila Bair is trying to utilize a solution that got us into the whole mess in the first place. Instead of selling the seized assets (and risks) from the FDIC’s balance sheet at fair market values (which are quite low), she is looking to securitize the seized assets and slap on an FDIC guarantee to assure investors. That’s right, take a pile of toxic waste and put a nice, shiny government guarantee on it. … – Surly Trader
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Survey: Greater GSE Subsidization Won’t Help Markets – has report and summary – MortgageOrb
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Pimco’s El-Erian Says Public Finance Shock May Deepen – By Garfield Reynolds – Mohamed A. El-Erian, whose company runs the world’s biggest mutual fund, said deteriorating public finances may affect the global economy more than is currently realized. “The importance of the shock to public finances in advanced economies is not yet sufficiently appreciated and understood,” … – Bloomberg
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buying time – Geithner urges reform on housing finance market – By Glenn Somerville – (Reuters) – Geithner said that after public comment is gathered, Treasury will likely be able to present specific proposals to Congress next year for reform and said it was just too busy to do so any earlier. … – Yahoo News
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As Budget Deficit Hits Record High, Interest On US Public Debt Hits Record Low – Submitted by Tyler Durden – … How is it possible that unprecedented debt accumulation can result in ever declining interest rates, and Treasury auctions, such as today’s 10 Year reopening, in which the Bid To Cover hit an all time high? One answer: The Federal Reserve, which through complete domination of the entire capital market courtesy of ZIRP and QE has now turned market logic upside down by 180 degrees. … – Zero Hedge
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Sin Taxes – Cities Look For New Ways To Pick Your Pockets – by ALAN GREENBLATT – hattip Liz Coppedge – NPR
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FDIC Extends Securitization Safe Harbor Through September – By Michael R. Crittenden - WSJ Business
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S&P issues warning over America’s top-tier rating – By David Oakley in London and Michael Mackenzie in New,York – The triple A rating of the US is at risk, S&P has warned, unless the country adopts a credible medium-term plan to rein in fiscal spending. – FT.com
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Federal budget update – Scott Grannis – Here’s my belated update of the federal budget charts for February, with data that were released yesterday. – Calafia Beach Pundit
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Yellen Is Spellin’ Future Inflation – Lawrence Kudlow – The new Obama Fed is going to be very dovish when it comes to fighting future inflation and defending the value of the dollar. … – Creators.com
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A TAXING EXPERIMENT – James Picerno – this article takes a look at how high tax rates would have tor rise to pay the dificit right now – The Capital Spectator
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Hut Hut….Hike! – regarding rate hikes by various central banks around the world; has good charts – Macro Man Blog