It’s shaping up to be a less painful year for many taxpayers who are preparing their 2007 returns.
Filing tax returns crucial; rebates won’t go out unless forms come in (The Toledo Blade)
STATE LOTTERIES officials like to say that you can t win if you don t play.
Editorial (This Editorial is not necessarily the opinion of the Blog Administrator.) 18 February, 2008 by Emily Spence Too often news coverage focuses on discreet current events at the expense of a more synthetic approach to notable happenings. While it is important that the public learns of major incidents in the world as they take place, sometimes this can lead to some observers not seeing the forest for the trees. On account, it might be easy to miss the connection between the globa
Author: Ted Jankowski Posted: Mon Feb 18, 2008 10:59 pm (GMT -5) Topic Replies: 4 How soon we forget how The Mayor Screwed the City of Flint out of a casino in 2005. “In order to maximize shareholder value for its stockholders, the majority stockholder of Sports Resorts International, Inc., Donald J. Williamson today announced that he has devised a strategic plan to enhance shareholder value and allow each of its businesses to grow as an independent, publicly traded, emerging growth comp
Foreclosure prevention plan under attack
CNN Money - Prices may be falling in places like Cleveland, but buying a house is still far out of reach for most people. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Two bills before Congress would give bankruptcy court judges the authority to reduce mortgage debt, which could …
Frugal Five Meet Single Guy (pfblogs.org)
Single Guy is from Atlanta, GA who is trying to fix his past money mistakes and has a goal of paying off his non-mortgage debt by December 2009. He shares his informative financial journey at www.singleguymoney.comWhat is your financial life?I am single, 30 years old with no kids. I have a mortgage on my primary home and a mortgage on my rental property. I do have one income and rental income. I have no credit card debt besides current month charges that will be paid in full next month. What is
Sunstone Hotel Investors Reports Results of Operations for Fourth …
MSN MoneyCentral - Fixed Rate Debt Secured Mortgage Debt 1 hotel 5.92% 2010 81,000 Secured Mortgage Debt(1) 10 hotels 5.95% 2011 248,164 Secured Mortgage Debt (2 …
US stocks look set to end the week in a funk on Friday as worries about a domestic recession and creeping inflation harried investors.
Rescues for homeowners in debt weighed
Herald Tribune - The Memphis metropolitan area highlights the larger national trend, with the average first-mortgage debt, at $153,764, edging above the average home price, $152,815, for the first time.
Ambac sparks rebound on Wall Street
Financial Times - Many analysts are concerned that the next problem on the horizon could be the fate of government-sponsored enterprises (GSE), which guarantee about 40 per cent of outstanding US mortgage debt. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae , were downgraded from …
You know, sometimes it just doesn t pay to pay. Especially if you are a homeowner who is facing foreclosure, because now it appears the government is riding to your rescue - even if they don t technically call it a bailout . But in the end it will be our tax dollars that cover the shortfall. Prodded in part by some of the nation s biggest banks, the Bush administration and Congress are considering costly new proposals for the government to rescue hundreds of thousands of homeowners whose mo
Reuters Summit-EMF sees no Euro subprime crisis, regulation need
Forbes - The fallout to date had mainly impacted European demand for mortgage debt — rather than supply — and would be “contained,” although Britain was potentially a unique case.
OTS offers new way to skin subprime foreclosure cat
Suggesting that there is a federal regulatory agency that can actually think creatively, the Washington Post reported yesterday that the Office of Thrift Supervision is preparing to introduce a proposal that will allow homeowners whose mortgage debt is larger than the value of their homes, to “refinace into government-insured [Federal Housing Administration] loans that cover the current value of their homes.” The plan apparently tries to address what has become a big impediment to the refinanc
Dems Throw Pennies to End Poverty
While there are differences of strategy and focus, the Democratic presidential contenders favor homeowner relief, extended unemployment benefit, food stamps, Medicaid funding and state and local grant aid. Some economists contend these types of aid, particularly to the unemployed, create the biggest bang for the stimulus buck by generating more economic activity, but virtually all of these proposals have been excluded during negotiations on the plan. John Edwards announced a stimulus plan las
Tax Cat knows that it’s a hard subject, but if your home has been foreclosed there’s something you should know about changes to the tax laws. Tax laws consider forgiven debt as income, which can leave those of you with foreclosed homes with some unexpected tax bills this year. Let’s say I loan you a million bazillion dollars. Now I go, “Oh, wait. Never mind. You can keep it.” The IRS considers that income. You would have to pay the taxes on your million bazillion dollars. The tricky part co
Home Overimprovement Trending Down (pfblogs.org)
One of the regular battles we’d get into in the comments on this blog in 2005-2006 was the “Good MEW/Bad MEW” thing. It would go like this: CR would post some data on Mortgage Equity Withdrawal and its impacts on consumer spending. Immediately, folks would pipe up to disagree with a claim CR never, actually, made, which is that “MEW” is “bad spending.” The favorite “justification” of MEW was that it was being spent on “home improvement,” which was–you see–an “investment,” not “consumption.” Th
NOTE: This is the third part of a serialized translation of Boris Nemtsov’s white paper critiquing the Putin years. It includes the third and fourth chapters of the work. Part 1 (introduction and chapter one) appeared on Monday, Part 2 (chapter two) on Wednesday; look for Part 4 on Sunday. You can display all the parts in reverse sequence on a single web page by simply clicking the “nemtsov white paper” link at the bottom of this post. Putin: the Bottom Line by Boris Nemtsov First Deputy Pri
Editorial (This Editorial is not necessarily the opinion of the Blog Administrator.) 18 February, 2008 by Emily Spence Too often news coverage focuses on discreet current events at the expense of a more synthetic approach to notable happenings. While it is important that the public learns of major incidents in the world as they take place, sometimes this can lead to some observers not seeing the forest for the trees. On account, it might be easy to miss the connection between the globa
Bloomberg - Unlike mortgage debt, you can’t write off personal credit- card interest on your federal taxes. It’s not deductible as a business or investment loss.
Mayor Melton to Settle Mortgage Debt (WLBT 3 Jackson)
Jackson Mayor Frank Melton says he will take care of his past-due mortgage Tuesday, when banks re-open. Melton is facing a possible March 11th foreclosure on his home unless the overdue mortgage note is paid.
Tax Tip: Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 [Taxes]
Tax Cat knows that it’s a hard subject, but if your home has been foreclosed there’s something you should know about changes to the tax laws. Tax laws consider forgiven debt as income, which can leave those of you with foreclosed homes with some unexpected tax bills this year. Let’s say I loan you a million bazillion dollars. Now I go, “Oh, wait. Never mind. You can keep it.” The IRS considers that income. You would have to pay the taxes on your million bazillion dollars. The tricky part co
Spain’s opposition sounds alarm on banks ahead of vote
Guardian Unlimited - Such assurances follow a string of analysts’ reports forecasting problems at Spanish savings banks, or cajas, due to exposure to real estate and mortgage debt at the end of a housing boom and because of an economic slowdown.
Following are the minutes from the Federal Reserve meeting held January 29 to January 30.
Selling for Less
I m a loser, I m a loser And I m not what I appear to be What have I done to deserve such a fate I realize I have left it too late And so its true pride comes before a fall I m telling you so that you wont lose all I m a loser and I lost someone who s near to me I m a loser and I m not what I appear to be I m a Loser The Beatles . . Selling for Less During the bubble price rally, sellers and realtors, the agents of sellers, had everything going their way. It was easy to price and
Tax Tip: Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 [Taxes]
Tax Cat knows that it’s a hard subject, but if your home has been foreclosed there’s something you should know about changes to the tax laws. Tax laws consider forgiven debt as income, which can leave those of you with foreclosed homes with some unexpected tax bills this year. Let’s say I loan you a million bazillion dollars. Now I go, “Oh, wait. Never mind. You can keep it.” The IRS considers that income. You would have to pay the taxes on your million bazillion dollars. The tricky part co
MSN MoneyCentral - Although many CAPS players remain wary of RAIT Financial’s exposure to low-quality mortgage debt, a solid group sees the selling on the stock as overdone, especially considering management’s willingness to pony up its own cash for shares and a still …
What About That Stimulus Package
Or The Fix Is In Against The US Taxpayer By Peggy Schlichter I know I have said this before bit I will say it again. The country does not have the money to pay for this rebate. Not only do we not have the money to make the rebates with, they have tacked on another measure that was barely publicized in the main stream media. This other measure is to raise the mortage loan limits of Freddie Mae, Fanny Mac and Federal Housing Administration Insurance too. Why is this important? Raising t
101 Things
(It s ok to jump on the bandwagon if you actually play your instrument!) 101 Things in 1001 Days The Mission: Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days The Criteria: Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of effort on your part). Yesterday (2-18-2008) was Day One. My goal date is November 14, 2010. My List: Adventures in Parenting
International Herald Tribune - On Capitol Hill, lawmakers are considering whether bankruptcy judges should be able to erase mortgage debt for insolvent borrowers, while others envision a government-backed entity that would vacuum up battered home loans. But even those bold ideas …
Reuters Summit-EMF sees no Euro subprime crisis, regulation need
Forbes - The fallout to date had mainly impacted European demand for mortgage debt — rather than supply — and would be “contained,” although Britain was potentially a unique case. In the main, those housing markets which had risen fastest for longest — such …