Finally! A MERS Lawsuit

Posted on February 3, 2012 by okiegirl

So NY has filed suit against a number of big banks over MERS practices. I don’t know what kind of monetary damages for affected homeowners or how much in penalties might be in the mix. Maybe one of you can enlighten me. See link from PL HH: A.G. Schneiderman Announces Major Lawsuit Against Nation’s Largest Banks.”

The OK SCt recently took the unusual step of taking original jurisdiction of a pair of appeals of summary judgments in foreclosure cases with robosigning issues. In both cases Deutsche Bank was plaintiff and won by summary judgment at trial court. SCt released two unpublished opinions a couple of weeks ago remanding with instructions. As I understand it, they did not rule on the merits of the assignments at issue. But local attorney friends tell me it is notable that they took jurisdiction (as opposed to the typical assignment to a Court of Civil Appeals) and was quite unusual. They say the SCt is sending a message.

And what is going on with the supposedly imminent global states settlement with the banks on robosigning issues? john/banned says some AG’s have until February 6th to join, but beyond that I’m not sure of the status. Anybody have news?

So legal actions on MERS practices seem to be picking up steam. Will these lawsuits only catch the little guys? It seems to me that the big banks were the movers in setting up MERS and they had a duty to see that it functioned properly and legally if they were going to use its services. They did not, so should they now be penalized for that failure? Any thoughts on what is to come regarding MERS?

[Edited to add global settlement question.]

Filed under: Big Banks, Foreclosure | Tagged: | 33 Comments »

Morning Report

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Brent Nyitray

Vital Statistics:

Last Change Percent
S&P Futures 1334.5 11.8 0.89%
Eurostoxx Index 2498.3 20.2 0.81%
Oil (WTI) 96.86 0.5 0.52%
LIBOR 0.527 -0.004 -0.68%
US Dollar Index (DXY) 79.144 0.166 0.21%
10 Year Govt Bond Yield 1.90% 0.08%

Stocks are jumping on the payroll numbers. Nonfarm payrolls increased 243k vs 140k expectations and the unemployment rate dropped from 8.5% to 8.3%.  The payroll estimates were 100k lower, so it is a substantial surprise. The good weather played a part in the number.  206,000 workers were unable to work due to bad weather, which 224,000 below the average for January. The SPUs jumped 12 points on the number.  Bonds got clobbered, with the 10 year futures contract dropping  2 handles. The dollar rallied.

I had expected unemployment to stay steady or increase as the long-term unemployed re-enter the labor force.  These numbers seem to imply the recently laid-off are finding jobs and the long-term unemployed still aren’t looking.  The labor force participation rate has been steadily declining over the past 6 months, falling from 64.2% to 63.7%.

This report makes the bearish tone of the FOMC report even stranger. Given that the Fed’s view of the economy seemed at odds with the general economic indicators coming out of the government and the tone of business, I guess QEIII is coming whether you like it or not.  The Fed is almost paying you to borrow money. Refinance your mortgage.  When inflation returns you will look back at that 3.75% 30 year mortgage as the best financial decision you ever made.

Edit:

For those interested in where the financial markets see real estate pricing, Radar Logic (RPX) futures began trading yesterday on the CBOE Futures Exchange.  The Radar Logic index measures the price of real estate nationally using a complicated algorithm (much different than Case-Schiller).  The index number represents the price per square foot.  The following chart shows where the market is predicting real estate prices 5 years out.  Note:  the jagged behavior is due to the fact that Radar Logic does not seasonally adjust their data and the summer season is stronger than winter.

Chart:  RPX Index futures curve:

It looks like someone put up a calendar spread today (buying March ’13,  selling Sep ’15).

 

Filed under: Uncategorized | 95 Comments »