Free Republic

Late this week, Treasury will report on the performance of servicers in delivering Making Home Affordable (MHA) programs. I understand Treasury will drop everyone’s ratings and do so with little explanation other than that they moved the bar to make required levels more stringent because too many servicers were hitting their highest rating. You know, its like telling Peyton Manning that throwing 7 touchdowns in the game against the Baltimore Ravens wasn’t good enough. He should have thrown 10 TDs! Treasury can continue to raise the bar on servicers and lead people to believe the servicers aren’t doing what is...

Last week, Fed Chair Ben Bernanke announced QE3 via monthly purchase of $40 billion per month of agency mortgage-backed securities (MBS). The intended consequences of QE-MBS is to move mortgage rates lower in the hopes of stimulating mortgage refinancings and home purchases. Given tight credit standards from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (and the lack of bank lending for their portfolios), it is doubtful that mortgage purchase applications will rise significantly. Clearly, The Fed has gone all out to support the Obama Administration’s 14 mortgage refinancing programs (HAMP, HARP, Attorneys General Settlement, etc.). I call this shadow fiscal policy by...

Canada’s MDA Corp., which has a well-established record in space robotics, is designing a satellite-servicing demonstration to refuel spacecraft in orbit and, when necessary, to push dead satellites into graveyard orbits, an MDA official said March 3. The company is prepared to finance the first mission at least in part on its own. MDA has signed an option with an unidentified satellite fleet operator that has agreed to provide an aging telecommunications spacecraft for a refueling operation as the inaugural customer, according to Logan Duffield, vice president for strategic business development of MDA Information Systems. Richmond, British Columbia-based MacDonald, Dettwiler...