David Moffett, featured in these motley pages some time ago, has deleted himself from Fred: WSJ Freddie Mac CEO Will Resign Freddie Mac's chief executive officer, David Moffett, announced his resignation from the U.S. government-backed mortgage company just six months after being installed in that p...

Today was a busy news day! President Obama administration’s 2010 budget proposes to limit the mortgage deductions on “higher income� households defined as making $208,850. per year. Quoting from the budget: “The Administration’s Budget includes a proposal to limit the tax rate at which h...

As the economy’s meltdown confuses politicians and economists, and stresses businesses and wage earners, the FBI has suddenly discovered a new path to career advancement. It has announced open season on the financial community with 530 corporate fraud investigations.

 The FBI also claimed tha...

Freddie and Fannie aren't the only big loan investors who have been issuing massive loan "put backs" to their loan sellers. They've recently been joined by GMAC's Residential Funding Co., which, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal, "has nearly tripled the number of lawsuits it’s...

McClatchy Washington Bureau With its benchmark lending rate effectively at zero, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday, in a move without modern precedent, publicly laid out an aggressive agenda for the nation's otherwise secretive central bank and suggested that he's hardly out of ammuni...

I want to grind my teeth every time I think about the U.S. government bailing out banks, but this Washington Post article says the thing has worked: Sure, you can question how the money was used — many of us have — but you can’t quarrel with the fact that a financial meltdown has b...

Last week's rank speculation reasonable assumption that the FDIC as receiver of the late, great IndyMac retained the liability for buyback demands made by Fannie Mae was confirmed Sunday by the New York Post ( a bastion of responsible reporting, so we don't doubt its word). According to the Post, ho...

SURELY ONE OF the least intuitively obvious federal laws is the bankruptcy rule that says a distressed debtor can ask a judge to reduce what he owes on a vacation house -- but not on a primary residence. You'd think it would be the other way around. But Congress meant to help home buyers: If......

This is Part Four of a series of articles on foreclosures. This article does not constitute legal advice. Foreclosure laws vary from state to state. Homeowners in financial distress should always hire legal counsel. Call your local state bar association for a referral.  Reduced or free legal aid ma...

Bill Richardson's unexpected withdrawal from the Senate confirmation process for commerce secretary underscores a simple fact about the presidential appointment process: It is up to the vetters to get the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth out of appointees....