Sounds like another cockamamie government/banking scheme!

The big news stories at the moment: 49 of 50 states have agreed to join the so-called mortgage settlement, with Oklahoma the lone refusenik.

Yves Smith of "Naked Capitalism" lists twelve reasons why the mortgage settlement stinks!

In an ironic twist, a building bearing the name of a bank closely associated with the foreclosure crisis may soon be facing foreclosure itself.

Bank of America plaza, Atlanta's tallest building, may soon face foreclosure if BentleyForbes, the commercial real estate investment company that owns the 55-story tower, proves unable to avoid loan failure through negotiations.

Please read more here.

The Obama administration announced a $335 million settlement deal with Bank of America to settle charges of discriminatory lending practices. Richard Eskow presents, in ascending order of importance, the good, the bad, and the ugly of this settlement.

SMH! There must be a special place in purgatory for some banksters!

A high-ranking former Citigroup Executive - turned whistleblower says he tried to warn his superiors about defective and even fraudulent mortgages.

This Citigroup whistleblower's warnings were sent directly to top Citigroup executives - including former Treasury Secretary/Citigroup Chairman of the Executive Board Bob Rubin.

So why hasn't Citigroup or its executives been prosecuted? CBS' 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft reports.

A high-ranking former Countrywide Executive - turned whistleblower says she tried to warn her superiors about defective and even fraudulent mortgages.

So why hasn't Countrywide or its executives been prosecuted? CBS' 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft reports.

Hmm... wonder if Bob Marley shoots economists too!

LOL! Just kidding.

The federal government late Friday filed lawsuits against 17 financial institutions, including some of the nation’s largest banks, alleging a pattern of fraud in their packaging and selling of roughly $200 billion worth of mortgage-linked securities. The suits amount to one of the most significant legal actions to emerge from the rubble of the financial crisis nearly three years ago.

The lawsuits put intense pressure on the Obama administration, which has long insisted that U.S. banks are healthy, while pushing for a cheap and speedy settlement over separate allegations that banks committed widespread fraud in the foreclosure process.

The suits include at least one explicitly political problem for Obama. The FHFA's targets include General Electric, an international beacon of American business whose CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, currently serves as a top economic adviser to Obama.

Please read more here.

Bank of America Corp. agreed Wednesday to pay $8.5 billion to settle claims by a group of high-profile investors who lost money on mortgage-backed securities purchased before the U.S. housing collapse.