Commercial Real-Estate Prices Fall 8.6% On Month In April
Commercial real-estate prices fell 8.6% in April as deals were closed after having been negotiated during the dark days of late 2008 and early 2009, Moody's Investors Service said.
"The size of April's decline, following a 5.5% decline in January, also suggests that sellers are beginning to capitulate to the realities of commercial real-estate markets," says Moody's Managing Director Nick Levidy. He added more distressed sales appear to be occurring.
The monthly decline, which leaves prices down one-quarter from a year earlier, continues the losing streak for the commercial real-estate sector, which had held out longer than residential real estate. However, commercial real estate began to feel the recession late last year, as retailers and other businesses cut back when financial markets and consumer sentiment were plunging.
FDIC Deposit Insurance Coverage
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is an independent agency of the United States government that protects against the loss of insured deposits if an FDIC-insured bank or savings association fails. FDIC deposit insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.
FDIC insurance covers funds in deposit accounts, including checking and savings accounts, money market deposit accounts and certificates of deposit (CDs). FDIC insurance does not, however, cover other financial products and services that insured banks may offer, such as stocks, bonds, mutual fund shares, life insurance policies, annuities or municipal securities.
There is no need for depositors to apply for FDIC insurance or even to request it. Coverage is automatic.
To ensure funds are fully protected, depositors should understand their deposit insurance coverage limits. The FDIC provides separate insurance coverage for deposits held in different ownership categories such as single accounts, joint accounts, Inpidual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and trust accounts.
Basic FDIC Deposit Insurance Coverage Limits*
Single Accounts (owned by one person) | $250,000 per owner** |
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Joint Accounts (two or more persons) | $250,000 per co-owner** |
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IRAs and certain other retirement accounts | $250,000 per owner |
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Trust Accounts | $250,000 per owner per beneficiary subject to specific limitations and requirements** |
* These deposit insurance coverage limits refer to the total of all deposits that an accountholder (or accountholders) has at each FDIC-insured bank. The listing above shows only the most common ownership categories that apply to inpidual and family deposits, and assumes that all FDIC requirements are met.
** The legislation authorizing the increase in deposit insurance coverage limits makes the change effective October 3, 2008, through December 31, 2009.
If you have questions about FDIC coverage limits and requirements, please visit www.myFDICinsurance.gov, call toll-free 1-877-ASK-FDIC, or ask a representative at your bank.
JPMorgan retains WaMu branch staff
NEW YORK (Reuters) - JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which bought the banking operations of Washington Mutual Inc [WAMUQ.PK] in September, said on Friday it would retain most of the giant thrift's branch banking staff, but planned substantial job cuts at its former headquarters and elsewhere.
JPMorgan expects to retain the employees who worked at Washington Mutual (WaMu) branches, upwards of 20,000 staff, spokesman Tom Kelly said.
The combined company has about 5,400 branches, and JPMorgan has said it will close no more than 10 percent.
JPMorgan said it remained on track to tell all former Washington Mutual employees by Monday whether they would have jobs and for how long, but overall numbers were not available. Washington Mutual had 43,198 employees as of June, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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U.S. Oct. new-home sales fall 5.3%
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a result of 441,500.
Sales fell 6% in the South, hitting the lowest level since 1992. Sales declined 18% in West, hitting the lowest level since 1982. Sales rose 22.6% in the Northeast, and gained 6% in the Midwest.
Nationally, sales in October were down 40.1% compared with October 2007. In September, new home sales gained 0.7%.
The inventory of unsold homes fell a record 8% in October to 381,000. In the past year, inventories have fallen 25.7%, the biggest drop since the government began tracking the data in 1963.
The median sales price was $218,000, down 7% in the past year.
While the numbers are dramatic, government statisticians have low confidence in the monthly report, which is subject to large revisions and sampling and other statistical errors. In most months, the government isn't sure whether sales rose or fell.
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Paulson to Unveil Facility to Boost Consumer Loans
Henry Paulson plans to announce on Tuesday the formation of a program to increase the availability of auto loans, student loans and credit cards, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The lending facility, which will be operated by the Federal Reserve, is expected to provide loans to investors who want to buy securities backed by credit cards, auto loans and student loans, the people told the paper. The U.S. Treasury will contribute between $25 billion to $100 billion to the facility from its $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the paper said. Read More. . . .
U.S. bails out Citi with $20 billion capital, guarantees
US takes over key mortgage Firms
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government moved to bail out Citigroup Inc, agreeing to shoulder most potential losses from $306 billion of its toxic assets and inject $20 billion of new capital, its biggest effort yet to prevent a big bank from failing.
The bailout, announced on Sunday, will give the U.S. government a 7.8 percent equity stake and marks the latest government effort to contain a widening financial crisis that has already brought down Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc and Washington Mutual Inc. Read More . . . .
US President George Bush says mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae have been taken over because they posed "an unacceptable risk" to the economy.
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US treasury statement on the future of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae