“Personal Finance Daily: Houses: A safe place for soiled money? (Market Watch)” plus 2 more |
- Personal Finance Daily: Houses: A safe place for soiled money? (Market Watch)
- Disaster loans offered to storm victims (WAVY TV 10 Portsmouth)
- UK banks eclipse rivals on UAE loan exposure (Reuters via Yahoo! News)
| Personal Finance Daily: Houses: A safe place for soiled money? (Market Watch) Posted: 27 Nov 2009 09:25 AM PST
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By MarketWatch Don't miss these top stories: It seems like a far-fetched plot out of a "Miami Vice" episode: Bad guys wire money around the world until it eventually ends up in an innocent-looking savings account, where it then becomes the down payment on a home purchase -- your home But real estate agents and authorities say they are seeing more of this suspicious activity, despite the fact that real estate is not the most liquid of investments, which makes it a game for only the most patient of money launderers. What makes it more attractive these days to the crooks is, given how down in the dumps the housing market has been, those big down payments are just what the lenders want to see -- and they often aren't questioning where the funds come from. Almost any home seller who gets caught up in such a scheme isn't going to get into any trouble for it. But there are warning signs that could be a tip-off something is out of sorts with your buyer -- not caring about a home inspection, say, or wanting to close inordinately quickly -- and that should set you to asking questions. In some way you could take this as a positive sign for the housing market: A residential investment isn't a good place for even laundered money if you think prices are going to keep falling. -- Steve Kerch, assistant managing editor/personal finance REAL ESTATE Why a money launderer might want to buy your home
I am a broker in Irvine, Calif., I recently sold a home which drew five offers in five days. In reviewing the buyers' financials for all five offers, I noticed that most of their accounts showed a number of large deposits over the previous 30 days from overseas -- Taiwan, Hong Kong and China. Evidently, however, the buyers didn't have to show their mortgage lenders any additional documentation as to whether these deposits were family gifts, loans or what.
CONSUMER Toy safety tips for Black Friday and beyond
Choking risks, dangerous chemical ingredients and excessively loud noise are the top features toy shoppers should try to avoid this holiday season as they load up on children's gifts and stocking stuffers.
Sorry, bargain hunters, no 80% off this year
Consumers should see fewer mega-discounts this year. Don't expect 60%, 70% or 80% off. So says MarketWatch reporter Jennifer Waters. She expects discount chains to shine while department stores could suffer. She joins John Wordock for a special Black Friday edition of MarketWatch News Break.
Kicking off the holiday season
Is a Santa Claus rally coming to town? Wall Street strategists are divided. How would you like a massage at the shopping mall? There's a rub, if you do. And hey big spenders, where are you this holiday season? John Wordock and Ann Cates co-host a special edition of Money Markets and More.
It's Toys 'R' Us time of year
They are ready. With the holiday sales season here, Jerry Storch, chairman and CEO at Toys 'R' Us, says the chain has been very aggressive, "because history has shown that companies that are strong, that offer a great product and service and who are aggressive during economic downturns thrive when the economy turns up." He tells Steve Potisk that "there's only one Toys 'R' Us," which "offers vastly more toys than the limited assortment mass-merchant companies."
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| Disaster loans offered to storm victims (WAVY TV 10 Portsmouth) Posted: 27 Nov 2009 10:04 AM PST HAMPTON ROADS, Va. - Virginia residents and businesses affected by the severe nor'easter coupled with the remnants of Hurricane Ida on November 12-15 can apply for low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration, SBA Administrator Karen G. Mills announced Friday. The loans became available in response to a letter from Gov. Timothy Kaine, requesting a disaster declaration by the Small Business Administration (SBA). The declaration covers the independent cities of Hampton, Newport News, Norfolk and Virginia Beach; adjacent independent cities of Chesapeake, Poquoson, Portsmouth and adjacent counties of James City, and York in Virginia; and Currituck County in North Carolina. "Loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for loans up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property," said Frank Skaggs, director of SBA's Disaster Field Operations Center in Atlanta. SBA's customer service representatives will be on hand at the Disaster Loan Outreach Centers to issue loan applications, answer questions about the SBA's disaster loan program, explain the application process and help individuals complete their applications. Centers will be located in the following communities: Northampton Community Center Senior Center at Ocean View The centers will be open Wednesday, Dec. 2 – Friday, Dec. 4 at the following times: Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed: Sunday, Dec. 6 Open: Monday, Dec. 7 – Thursday, Dec. 10 Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closing: Thursday, Dec. 10, at the close of business The SBA also provides mitigation funds to disaster victims up to 20 percent of the verified physical damage. These funds are designed to help borrowers pay for protective measures to minimize damages of the same kind in the future. For small businesses and most private non-profit organizations of all sizes, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. EIDL assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage. Interest rates are as low as 2.562 percent for homeowners and renters, and 4 percent for businesses, with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition. Individuals and businesses unable to visit the Centers in person may obtain information and loan applications by calling the SBA's Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the hearing impaired), Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST, or sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov . Business loan applications can also be downloaded from the SBA Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance . Completed applications should be returned to the Centers or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 4925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155. Victims may apply for disaster loans from SBA's secure Web site at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/ . The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is January 25, 2010. The deadline to return economic injury applications is August 25, 2010. For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Programs, visit our Web site at www.sba.gov/services/disasterassistance . This content has passed through fivefilters.org.  This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now |
| UK banks eclipse rivals on UAE loan exposure (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Posted: 27 Nov 2009 08:48 AM PST LONDON (Reuters) – British banks have far greater exposure to potential problem debts in the United Arab Emirates than rivals in France, the United States, Japan or anywhere else, loans data show, as worries mount about the region. Bank shares and financial markets have been rattled in the last three days by worries about debt problems in Dubai, after the emirate asked creditors at its flagship firms Dubai World and property developer Nakheel to delay repayment on billions of dollars of debt. A lack of clarity on where exposures lie and how wide the issue will spread has left investors jittery. UK banks have greater exposure than rivals due to Britain's traditional links to the Middle East, two major emerging markets focused banks and lending during the Dubai property sector boom, analysts said. UK banks have loans totaling $50 billion into the UAE, out of total loans of $123 billion by international banks, according to statistics from the Bank of International Settlements (BIS). The BIS data, based on loans to the end of June, showed loans from banks in Britain was far higher than from France ($11.3 billion), Germany ($10.6 billion), the United States ($10.6 billion) and Japan ($9 billion). HSBC Holdings (HSBA.L), Europe's biggest bank, has the biggest exposure to the UAE, according to end-2008 estimates by the Emirates Banks Association. The London-based bank's loan exposure to UAE was $15.9 billion at the end of June, down from $17.5 billion at the end of 2008, its half-year results showed. Michael Geoghegan, HSBC chief executive, said on Friday the bank was "completely committed" to the Middle East. "I am confident that the leadership of Dubai and the UAE will overcome any short-term issues they face, which appear to have been somewhat sensationalized, and continue to lay the foundations for sustainable growth," he said in comments provided to Reuters. The bank declined to comment on its potential exposure to problem loans in Dubai. Goldman Sachs analysts said a "first stab" at HSBC's potential credit losses in the UAE was just over $600 million. HSBC said its loan exposure at the end of June included $1.7 billion of residential mortgages and $1.8 billion of property related loans. It also had $3.3 billion of personal loans and $9.5 billion of commercials and international trade loans. The Emirates Banks Association estimated Standard Chartered (STAN.L) ranked behind HSBC as the foreign bank with most loans into UAE, with $7.8 billion. Standard Chartered signaled on Friday its exposure would not be material. Barclays (BARC.L) and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) ranked next for loan exposure to UAE, with loans of $3.6 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively. By comparison, Citigroup (C.N) ranked highest among U.S. banks with loans of $1.9 billion into UAE, and BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) was the highest Continental European bank with loans of $1.7 billion. Most banks have played down their potential exposure or declined comment, which analysts said is partly because it is unclear how far the problem will knock on. "The exposures to Dubai World debt are relatively limited, and are less of a concern compared (with) the spillover effects for related entities, corporates in the UAE region and potential refinancing issues," said Kian Abouhossein, analyst at JP Morgan. Syndicated loans outstanding to Dubai total $45 billion, of which $39 billion is owed by the state or government-owned companies, according to Thomson Reuters LPC data. Of the total loans, $7.3 billion of the debt matures next year, and $17.5 billion matures in 2011. Dubai World Group companies has $14.6 billion in loans outstanding, according to the LPC data. (Additional reporting by Christopher Mangham) This content has passed through fivefilters.org. |
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