Finance
AIG lobbying to relax oversight rules: report (Reuters)
Reuters - Insurance giant American International Group Inc is spending money to lobby states to soften new controls on the mortgage industry, the Wall Street Journal said. Read more…
McCain and Obama clash on taxes early in debate (Reuters)
Reuters - Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama fought over their tax plans and promised to help working Americans like "Joe the plumber" early in their final presidential debate on Wednesday. Read more…
JPMorgan profit plummets on loan losses (Reuters)
Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co's third-quarter profit fell 84 percent, due to mark-downs on underperforming loans in its leveraged lending and mortgage-related portfolios, the bank said on Wednesday. Read more…
JPMorgan profit sinks as loan losses pile up (AP)
AP - JPMorgan Chase & Co. says its profit tumbled 84 percent in the third quarter after it took big hits from souring mortgage investments, leveraged loans and home loans. Read more…
Survey: Blacks save much less in retirement plans (AP)
AP - In the midst of historic volatility on Wall Street there is a continuing trend of blacks saving and investing less than whites, according to a survey released Wednesday. The difference is attributed to various social and cultural reasons such as getting less exposure to personal finance concepts and advice. Read more…
Bush, Paulson take new approach to economic crisis (AP)
AP - The Bush administration's latest effort to resolve the financial crisis embraces an approach it had resisted just a few weeks ago. Read more…
Banco Santander buying rest of Sovereign for $1.9B (AP)
AP - Banco Santander of Spain said Monday it would buy the other three-quarters stake in Sovereign Bancorp that it doesn't already own for $1.9 billion, extending a wave of consolidation as the banking industry struggles to deal with a load of soured mortgage-related debt. Read more…
HBOS says takeover by Lloyds TSB still on (Reuters)
Reuters - Britain's biggest mortgage provider HBOS Plc said the takeover of the bank by Lloyds TSB remained on, rejecting a report on Sunday that the deal had collapsed. Read more…
They Warned Us About the Mortgage Crisis (BusinessWeek Online)
BusinessWeek Online - More than five years ago, in April 2003, the attorneys general of two small states traveled to Washington with a stern warning for the nation's top bank regulator. Sitting in the spacious Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, with its panoramic view of the capital, the AGs from North Carolina and Iowa said lenders were pushing increasingly risky mortgages. Their host, John D. Hawke Jr., expressed skepticism. Read more…
Obama attacks McCain mortgage bailout plan (Reuters)
Reuters - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama accused Republican John McCain on Thursday of backing a mortgage bailout plan that would reward banks responsible for the U.S. housing crisis, as he sought to press a perceived advantage on economic issues. Read more…