Are business afraid to invest because of Washington? The data says: No.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Two top Federal Reserve officials expanded their defense of the U.S. central bank's asset-buying program, arguing on Friday that the policy helps the broader fiscal health of the United States.

Home sales are slowly climbing back thanks in some part to the so-called "strategic defaulters" - investors and homeowners who once walked away from their commitments but are now coming back to the market. And apparently the market is welcoming them back.

Panel Holds None of Plaintiffs' Arguments to be Persuasive FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   CONTACT:  Jason Lobo Phone: 703-652-1660 Email: jasonl@mersinc.org Reston, Virginia, February 22, 2013 - MERSCORP Holdings, Inc. today announced that a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed, without hearing, an order from the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii dismissing with prejudice plaintiffs' complaint against MERS.  The ruling found that MERS as nominee for the lender and the lender's successors and assigns had authority to act, including assigning the mortgage to a third party. The appellate ruling, ordered by Circuit Court Judges Jay S. Bybee, Morgan Christen and Susan Graber, affirmed the thorough and detailed  decision by District Judge David Alan Ezra.  The plaintiffs' second amended complaint contained four allegations related to MERS' assignment of the mortgage to a foreclosing lender. Not only did Judge Ezra find that the plaintiffs, "as strangers to the Assignment," lacked standing and "may not dispute the validity of the Assignment," but he also fully addressed the merits of their claims. "[T]he Court has grave doubts about the validity of the factual predicate underlying most, if not all, of Plaintiffs' claims," Judge Ezra wrote. Citing a previous Ninth Circuit case ( Cervantes v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. ) containing "identical language to the mortgage at issue," Judge Ezra held that "the Ninth Circuit concluded that MERS was a legitimate organization and that the mortgage which plaintiffs signed put them on notice of the role MERS was to play in their home loans." "Judge Ezra could have simply dismissed these allegations when noting that the plaintiffs were not a party to the Assignment and, therefore, could not challenge its validity, but he further analyzed the merits - or lack thereof -...

Comments at the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum

Fattened Margins Seen Shrinking 40% at Banks: Mortgages Businessweek Record mortgage profits that drove earnings at Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) are fading as increased competition keeps the rates banks are offering on new loans near all-time lows. The amount that lenders make from ...