Goldman Saks, besides indulging in the 'bailout' funds, took $5 billion from Warren Buffet in order to keep afloat. (click here)
President Barack Obama meets JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon, second right, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. are expanding their efforts to halt home foreclosures while the Obama administration develops its plans to help the U.S. housing market.
Obama to outline plan to stem home foreclosures (click here)
By ALAN ZIBELAP REAL ESTATE WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The biggest players in the mortgage industry are halting home foreclosures while the Obama administration develops its plan to help struggling homeowners.
The White House said President Barack Obama on Wednesday will outline his much-anticipated plan to spend at least $50 billion to prevent foreclosures in a speech in Arizona, one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.
JPMorgan, Banks to Halt Foreclosures for Three Weeks (Update2) (click here)
By Margaret Chadbourn
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to suspend foreclosures while the Obama administration crafts a housing plan to modify mortgages for troubled borrowers....
Washington sees nation's largest drop in sales (click here)
By AUBREY COHENP-I REPORTER
Sales of existing homes fell further in Washington than in any other state in the fourth quarter of 2008, according to a report Thursday.
The state had 76,800 sales of existing houses and condominiums in the quarter, down 35.6 percent from a year earlier and a seasonally adjusted 10.7 percent from the third quarter, according to the National Association of Realtors. The quarterly change was good for 37th place among states and Washington, D.C....
(the stimulus plan)...That includes more than fifty billion dollars in aid to states. And it includes money for roads and bridge projects as well as investments in health care, education and energy. The plan also calls for expanded aid for people without jobs or health insurance....
This is an interesting mix. Tax relief puts added spending into the hands of the consumer over time, appropriations carry an interest in the future and direct spending adds relief today. $276 billion directly into the heart of the nation will create jobs and the appropriations will sustain it. Nice job. Congratulations to the House of Representatives.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., second from left, shares a laugh with, from left, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday after the House passed of the stimulus legislation.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (click here)
Making supplemental appropriations for job preservation and creation, infrastructure investment, energy efficiency and science, assistance to the unemployed, and State and local fiscal stabilization, for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2009, and for other purposes....
OpenCongress Summary:This is the economic stimulus package making its way through the House of Representatives and the Senate. The final version, as agreed to by the conference committee, is estimated to cost $787 billion over the 2009-2019 period....
Subtitle B--Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board (click here)
SEC. 1521. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RECOVERY ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY BOARD.
There is established the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to coordinate and conduct oversight of covered funds to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse....
