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The Federal Home Financing Agency (FHFA), apparently stung by the coverage of its lawsuits it against 17 banks and a number of their executive officers, has issued a clarification of the goals and rational behind those suits . The suits which were filed last Friday seek damages on behalf of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (the GSEs) for losses arising out of their purchase of dozens of private label securities (PLS) backed by residential mortgages which were issued by the 17 banks. The agency reiterated...

The Departments of Treasury and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released the August edition of their Housing Scorecard on Friday which painted a picture of slowly increasing home prices and decreasing foreclosures while delinquencies increased. The Scorecard, issued jointly by the Departments of Treasury and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is largely a recap of data released by other sources such as the Census Bureau, S&P Case-Schiller, RealtyTrac and the National Association of Realtors...

The U.S. Federal Reserve has hired JPMorgan Chase as its custodian to run the central bank's purchase of up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities as part of the Fed's quantitative easing strategy to liquidate the U.S. financial system...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is reportedly taking advantage of the World Bank and IMF meetings in Washington, D.C. by inviting numerous banking executives to a 3 pm EDT gathering on Monday. The meeting comes after the morning's announcement...

Is it possible that some of the collapses and near misses in the financial markets over the last six months will ultimately be tied to a few sick and/or greedy people who have used rumors and innuendo to manipulate the market? Government regulators are looking at such a scenario starting with the failure of Bear Stearns in March of this year.

The Journal reported that the SEC is attempting to trace the allegedly false rumors to the original source....

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On Thursday morning, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York announced its intentions to conclude arrangements for the financing of JPMorgan's acquisition of Bear Stearns by June 26 and finish valuating the investment bank's portfolio.

"The New York Fed, in coordination with JPMorgan Chase, is working carefully and expeditiously to...

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Those investors who insisted on buying or holding on to their Bear Stearns stock, keeping prices at near three times the $2 per share being offered by J.P. Morgan Chase appear to have been on to something.

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The news wasn't surprising but the price tag was a real stunner.

On Sunday J.P. Morgan chase agreed to pay $2 per share to acquire failing Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns, lock, stock, and barrel. And the purchase price, by the way, will be paid entirely in stock and includes purchase of the company's 45 story New York office tower...

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