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September 28,
2007
Mortgage
Lending
name='1'>Proposal by House Financial Services
Chairman Would Increase Regulation of Mortgage
Industry
Mortgage brokers, lenders and
firms that purchase home loans and later sell them into the secondary
market would all come under greater regulation under a draft outline
prepared by the staff of Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank
(D-Mass.) in response to the subprime mortgage market collapse,
CongressDaily reported today. The outline contains a federal duty of
care for mortgage originators such as brokers and lenders. Under joint
regulations issue by HUD and the Federal Reserve, all originators would
have to be licensed pursuant to federal or state law and diligently work
to find the most appropriate loan for the borrower's circumstance.
Brokers, who are regulated at the state level, would come under much
greater federal scrutiny. Unless they are registered under a state law
that has standards such as bonding, minimum qualifications and mechanism
for consumer redress, they would be subject to new HUD licensing to act
in the best interest of the borrower. The outline also prohibits brokers
from receiving a yield spread premium, in which mortgage brokers are
eligible to receive fees from lenders for issuing a loan with a higher
interest rate than the minimum rate the borrower could have qualified
for.
name='2'>American Home Mortgage Deflects Blame on Bounced
Checks
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Maryland
state's commissioner of financial regulation said that American Home
Mortgage Investment Corp. (AHM) bounced 564 property tax checks in the
state, but the lender blamed other financial institutions for the
problem, the Associated Press reported yesterday. The bankrupt mortgage
lender responded yesterday to inquiries made last week by state
regulators, saying that the problems stemmed from the inadvertent
freezing of bank accounts and a previously disclosed dispute with
government-sponsored mortgage financier Freddie Mac. AHM claimed that
all but six of the bad checks were eventually made good, said Sarah
Bloom Raskin,
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Maryland
commissioner of financial regulation. However, Bloom Raskin said that by
the agency’s initial count, 36 were still unpaid. The state
regulator plans to follow up with another inquiry to American Home
Mortgage asking for more details on the discrepancy.
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/27/AR2007092701509.html'>Read
more.
name='3'>Foxtons Shuts All
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
size='3'>Operations Citing Housing Slump
Foxtons, a closely held
discount real estate broker based in West Long Branch, N.J., said that
it will shut its U.S. operations and may file for bankruptcy due to the
slowing U.S. housing market, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The
company laid off 350 of 380 employees, the statement said. Foxtons,
which operated in
size='3'>New York,
w:st='on'>
size='3'>New Jersey
size='3'>Connecticut
real estate agents a salary and a 3 percent commission rather than the
traditional 6 percent. The idea failed to catch on because real estate
agents from other companies, who worked solely on commission, were
reluctant to show homes listed by Foxtons. Foxtons Ltd., a London-based
brokerage, in May accepted a buyout offer from the
size='3'>U.K.
Partners Ltd. BC Partners did not buy the
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.S.
continued under the ownership of Foxtons'
w:st='on'>
size='3'>U.K.
size='3'>founder Jon Hunt. The company has 4,400 homes listed for sale
in the
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>U.S.
said it plans to use the revenue from those deals to pay
creditors.
href='http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=auXPWN5N3d4c'>Read
more.
name='4'>Court Approves $200 Million
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Delphi
Deal
Bankruptcy Judge
size='3'>Robert Drain approved a $200 million
settlement between auto-parts maker Delphi Corp. and General Motors
Corp. that resolves damage claims against
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Delphi
for parts it supplied, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. The deal
calls for
size='3'>Delphi
in cash over time and ship about $70 million in replacement
parts.
size='3'>Delphi
the right to take action against other manufacturers of the products and
will split with GM any money it recovers. The deal reduces more than
$530 million in damage claims GM filed in 2006. Yesterday's settlement
comes after the company reached a wide-ranging deal with GM to settle
issues over supplies, pricing, retirement liabilities and plant closings
and sales. Under the broader agreement, GM will make between $300
million and $400 million in annual labor-related payments to its former
parts unit and annual transitional payments of about $100 million. GM
will also take on much of
size='3'>Delphi's retiree health
benefit costs and will recover labor costs that total more than $26 per
hour at some plants.
href='http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070927/UPDATE/709270490'>Read
more.
Tosses EPA's Renewed Suit over Polluted Site
District Court Judge U.
W. Clemon rejected the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's second
attempt to force Gulf States Steel Inc. to cover the costs of cleaning
up its polluted facility, after the first case was interrupted when the
company filed for bankruptcy, Bankruptcy Law360
reported yesterday. Judge Clemon did, however, leave the
door open for the EPA to lodge another action against the company. The
dispute over the Gulf States Steel site in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Glasden
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Ala.
1997, when the EPA launched a lawsuit accusing the steel manufacturer of
violating the Clean Water Act and asking to hold the company liable for
cleanup. After Gulf States Steel filed for chapter 11 in 1999, the EPA
struck a settlement with the company. The agreement, however, had to be
part of Gulf State Steel's reorganization plan, so when the company
decided to liquidate and switched to chapter 7, the proposed deal died.
The company eventually emerged from bankruptcy in December 2006. The EPA
succeeded in securing $2 million from Gulf States Steel, which was put
into an account designated for cleanup costs at the site.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/Secure/ViewArticle.aspx?id=36041'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='6'>Radnor Granted Exclusivity Extension
Bankruptcy Judge
size='3'>Peter Walsh granted Radnor Holdings
Corp.’s request for an exclusivity extension of four
months,
size='3'>Bankruptcy Law360 reported yesterday.
With their motion three weeks ago, the Pennsylvania-based debtors had
said that they needed an additional four months to negotiate the
terms of their plan with the unsecured creditors’ committee, the
private equity firm that purchased most of Radnor’s assets and
other parties. On April 30, Radnor filed its chapter 11 plan and
disclosure statement detailing its anticipated liquidation of 22
distinct legal entities. The disclosure statement noted that
substantially all of the debtors’ assets had already been
sold.
href='http://bankruptcy.law360.com/secure/ViewArticle.aspx?Id=35987'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
Debt
Market Showing Signs of Emerging from Crisis
A little more than a week
after the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates, signs are emerging
that credit markets are improving, as bond-trading volumes have picked
up and investors agreed to buy almost twice as much of a risky loan
offering as expected, the Wall Street
Journal reported today. In a deal that just a
few weeks ago seemed nearly impossible to complete, Wall Street
investment banks yesterday sold investors $9.4 billion in risky bank
loans issued by First Data Corp. to finance its leveraged buyout. It was
the largest sale of leveraged loans since that of HCA Inc. last year. It
was also nearly double the $5 billion in loans the banks said that they
were attempting to sell. However, there are still weak spots in the
market, including some corporate debt issues and the commercial-paper
market. Investors are also worried about the large volume of new debt
set to hit the market in the next few months.
href='http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119090449388941349.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_news'>Read
more. (Registration required.)
name='8'>Freddie Mac, Ex-Officials Settle Fraud
Charges
Freddie Mac, which
previously paid about $540 million in settlements with investors and
regulators over its alleged accounting manipulations, yesterday agreed
to pay $50 million to settle new charges that its conduct amounted to
securities fraud, the
size='3'>Washington Post reported today. In
addition, four former executives of the government-sponsored mortgage
funding company settled charges of negligence without admitting or
denying wrongdoing. The settlements with the Securities and Exchange
Commission came more than four years after Freddie Mac disclosed that it
had misstated financial results by billions of dollars. The charges
added little if any information to the details of the alleged
manipulations spelled out in a 2003 report commissioned by Freddie Mac
directors.
href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/27/AR2007092701207_pf.html'>Read
more.
Financial Services Chairman Suggests SEC Revisit Shareholder Access
Proposals
House Financial Services
Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) suggested yesterday that the SEC go back
to the drawing board when it comes to new rules governing shareholder
access to corporate governance,
size='3'>CongressDaily reported today. The SEC
has proposed allowing shareholders who hold a 5 percent stake or more in
a company's stock to place nominations for boards of directors on proxy
ballots. It also would require that such shareholders have held the
stock for at least one year. Another proposal by the agency would allow
electronic shareholder meetings, via the Internet, in addition to live
meetings. These proposals are under consideration by the SEC, but have
not been finalized. Frank pointed out that the agency has split in
several votes on the issues, and has not been able to agree on a
plan.
name='10'>Judge Orders October Auction for Bankrupt
size='3'>Texas
size='3'>Resort
Bankruptcy Judge
size='3'>Ronald King ordered an Oct. 18
auction for the bankrupt Lajitas Resort in
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Western Texas
Press reported today. Judge King ordered the sale this week to satisfy
more than $16 million owed to creditors. The auction will be held
in
size='3'>San Antonio
size='3'>.
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Austin
multimillionaire Steve Smith bought the property at
auction in 2000 for about $4.5 million. He filed for bankruptcy
protection in July. The 92-room resort and surrounding property -
called the Ultimate Hideout resort - have been appraised by the
Brewster County Appraisal District at about $16 million.
href='http://kswo.com/Global/story.asp?S=7140711'>Read
more.
name='11'>TROUBLED COMPANIES IN THE NEWS
The business news
articles below are taken from the U.S. Business Journal’s Daily
Summary of Troubled & Fast Growing U.S. Companies which is published
by Bastien Financial Publications.
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size='3'>Members receive a 50% discount off of our regular subscription
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To subscribe email steve@creditnews.com
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37
ACI Worldwide
Inc.
size='3'>, the New York-based provider of electronic funds transfer
software, reported a third quarter net loss of $2.7 million on a 16%
revenue increase–to $98 million.
Diedrich Coffee
Inc., an
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Irvine
size='3'>, Ca. operator of franchised coffee shops with nearly 150
locations in thirty states, reported a fourth quarter net loss of $2.3
million, on a 20% revenue increase–to $11.2 million. For the
year, the firm reported a net loss of $1.8 million, on a 19% revenue
increase–to $36.6 million. Results included charges of
$571,000 and $1 million related to asset disposals, restructuring and
asset impairment for the quarter and the year respectively.
Ennis
Inc., a
face='Times New Roman'
size='3'>Midlothian
size='3'>, Tx. manufacturer of promotional items and custom forms for
business use, reported its second quarter net declined 4%–to $11
million, on a 1% revenue decline–to $150 million.
Fremont
General
size='3'>’s stock price tumbled 19% after billionaire banker
Gerald Ford called off a rescue plan that called for him to invest $80
million in the mortgage company.
KB Home
size='3'>, the big
face='Times New Roman' size='3'>Los
Angeles
size='3'>, Ca. homebuilder, reported a third quarter net loss of $35.6
million, compared to a $153 million profit in the year-earlier period.
The recent results include a $479 million loss from continuing
operations, which in turn included pretax impairment charges of almost
$800 million. The company also recorded a $438 million gain from the
disposal of discontinued operations. Revenue plunged 32%–to
$1.5 billion.
Luminent Mortgage
Capital, a home-loan investment company
in
size='3'>San Francisco
face='Times New
&#13;&#10;&#13;&#10;&#13;&#10;&#13;&#13;&#10;&#13;&a mp;#13;&#10;&#13;&#13;&#10;&amp;#13;&amp;#13;&amp;#10;&amp;a mp;#13;&amp;amp;#10;&amp;amp;#13;&amp;amp;#13;&amp;amp;#10;Roman'>
size='3'>, Ca., reported that its net income in the second quarter sank
nearly 50% and said it has come under pressure from bankers seizing
assets and cutting off credit lines. Luminent a month ago warned
that its business may not survive.
Natural Health Trends
Corp., a
Dallas, Tx. manufacturer of personal care products and remedies sold in
fifteen countries, reported a second quarter net loss of $1.5 million,
on a 31% revenue decline–to $25 million.
Neiman Marcus Group
Inc., the
Dallas, Tx.-based specialty retailer, reported a fourth quarter net loss
of $15.9 million, an improvement over its $42 million loss in the
year-earlier fourth quarter. Sales rose more than 9%–to $982
million, including a 7% jump in same-store sales.
Rite Aid
Corp., the
Camp Hill, Pa.-based drugstore chain, reported a widened second quarter
net loss of $69.6 million, compared to a $300,000 loss in the
year-earlier quarter. The recent loss was greater than analysts had
expected. Revenue surged 54%–to $6.6 billion, including a
1.1% increase in same-store sales. The retailer faced costs of
$192 million in the quarter related to its $4 billion acquisition of
more than 1,800 Brooks and Eckerd stores. Rite Aid said that it’s
now looking at a fiscal 2008 loss of between $78 million and $161
million, greater than had earlier been projected, on sales of about $25
billion.
Zale
Corp., an Irving, Tx. jewelry retailer, is
selling its Bailey Banks & Biddle chain of jewelry stores to
Finlay Enterprises
Inc. for $200 million and the assumption of an
undisclosed amount of liabilities. Finlay, a
w:st='on'>
size='3'>Manhattan
w:st='on'>
size='3'>N.Y.
leased jewelry departments in department stores, will fund the
acquisition through a $500 million credit facility. The Bailey Banks
unit, with about seventy retail locations, could add upwards of $300
million in sales to Finlay’s business. For Zale, the sale is
part of an ongoing turnaround plan following a business strategy that
failed when the firm tried to expand into higher-margin fashion jewelry.
Zale will now return to its core business of selling diamond
fashions.