April 17. 2009

The foreclosure rate in America jumped 24% this year, signaling the mortgage crisis has not bottomed out, as analyst previously predicted.

For months I have been emphasizing that banks are not doing enough to help homeowners and the government needs to act to stem these runaway foreclosures. It is erode the nation's wealth and the net worth of millions of Americans.

A record 6 million Americans are collecting unemployment benefits during the current economic crisis. The unemployment rate in America stands between 8.5% to 13% in many U.S. states.

President Obama previously proposed to create 3.5 million new jobs, but as the numbers show, millions will fall between the cracks.

This crisis certainly is not his doing, as this can squarely be attributed to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, but Obama's plans need considerable tweaking, if they are to meet this monumental challenge.

Number of Homes Threatened With Foreclosure Rose Sharply

Foreclosure rate grew 24 percent in the first three months of this year

The number of American households threatened with losing their homes grew 24 percent in the first three months of this year and is poised to rise further as major lenders restart foreclosures after a temporary break, according to data released Thursday.

The big unknown for the coming months, however, is President Barack Obama's plan to help up to 9 million borrowers avoid foreclosure through refinanced mortgages or modified loans. The Obama administration expects its plans to make a big dent in the foreclosure crisis. But it remains to be seen whether the lending industry will fully embrace it, despite $75 billion in incentive payments.

The faltering economy is causing the housing crisis to spread. Nationwide, nearly 804,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice from January through March, up from about 650,000 in the same time period a year earlier, according to RealtyTrac Inc., a foreclosure listing firm...

http://abcnews.go.com

Jobless claims top 6M; housing plummets

WASHINGTON -- Housing construction unexpectedly plunged, the number of people receiving jobless benefits grew and JPMorgan Chase & Co. said its first-quarter profit dropped compared with last year.

That was the bad news. But those same reports Thursday included some silver linings suggesting the recession may be easing.

The pace of new-home construction seems to be nearing a bottom. First-time jobless benefit claims fell more than expected for the second straight week. And JPMorgan's profits were larger than analysts had expected. In the past week, two other banks, Wells Fargo & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., issued positive earnings reports, too...

...The Commerce Department said construction of new homes and apartments fell to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 510,000 units in March. It was the second lowest pace on records that go back 50 years.

...Separately, the Labor Department said its tally of initial unemployment claims dropped to a seasonally adjusted 610,000 from a revised 663,000 the previous week. That was far below analysts' expectations of 655,000 and the lowest level since late January...

The total number of people remaining on the jobless benefit rolls rose 172,000, topping 6 million for the first time, the Labor Department said. That's the highest on records dating from 1967. The figures for continuing claims lag behind initial claims by one week.

An additional 2.1 million people were receiving benefits under an extended unemployment compensation program enacted by Congress last year, the department said, as of March 28, the latest data available. That provides an additional 20 to 33 weeks, on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by the states.

The Labor Department said earlier this month that companies cut a net total of 663,000 jobs in March, sending the unemployment rate up to 8.5 percent, the highest in 25 years...

http://abclocal.go.com