SIFMA Shares FHFA Concerns with Use of Eminent Domain to Restructure Mortgages
SIFMA today released the following statement from Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., executive vice president for public policy and advocacy, after the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released a notice for comment on the proposed use of eminent domain to modify existing mortgages in private label security pools.
http://jlne.ws/No6VKW

Deutsche Bank Is Stuck on RREEF
BY CRAIG KARMIN AND LAURA STEVENS – WSJ
Deutsche Bank AG’s on-and-off effort to sell its giant real-estate fund group is taking its toll on one of the world’s largest property-investment businesses.
http://jlne.ws/Rp1XSh

Barclays expects Citi to book $6B charge in 3Q
Associated Press via Yahoo! News
A Barclays analyst projects that Citigroup Inc. may book a charge of up to $6 billion in the third quarter related to its stake in the retail brokerage Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, which it owns with investment bank Morgan Stanley.
http://jlne.ws/Rp1XSp

Rival Citadel Bid for Knight
WSJ.com
Citadel LLC made a rival $500 million loan offer to its competitor Knight Capital Group Inc. on Sunday, hours before Knight finalized a $400 million recapitalization by a group of investors, people familiar with the discussions said.
http://jlne.ws/PFp9Hd

BOE: Lending Plan Could Boost Bank Profit
WSJ.com
The U.K.’s new flagship program to coax banks to lend more to households and businesses could result in banks using the cheap central bank funds to boost their profits rather than passing on lower lending rates to the broader economy, the Bank of England said Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/No8sAs

Fannie Mae swings to profit on credit benefit
MarketWatch
Fannie Mae swung to a second-quarter profit after booking a large benefit for credit losses, the latest sign the housing market is making tentative steps toward a recovery.
http://jlne.ws/QGyXFS

Americans Cut Their Debt
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland – Economic Commentary
The Great Recession brought an end to a 20-year expansion of consumer debt. In its wake is a lively debate about what caused the turnaround. Was it motivated by a decreased appetite for debt by consumers or an unwillingness to lend by banks? Our analysis of Equifax and Mail Monitor data shows that the major cause was most likely consumers.
http://jlne.ws/NjWvNZ

Housing regulator warns about ‘eminent domain’ use
MarketWatch
The regulator for government-seized mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Wednesday warned against the use of so-called eminent domain to restructure home loans.
http://jlne.ws/OTnSOF

More Than 50% of Poll Respondents Expect Economy to Get Worse
WSJ.com
Consumer spending in the U.S. continued to decline during July as consumer sentiment about the economy waned and expectations about personal finances were unchanged, according to Discover Financial Services’ U.S. Spending Monitor.
http://jlne.ws/RqiuFD

Don’t get suckered by the Draghi put – Matthew Lynn’s London Eye
MarketsWatch
They may well go down as the six most infamous words in the short history of the euro. “Believe me, it will be enough,” European Central Bank President Mario Draghi told an investment conference in London last month as he pledged to do whatever was necessary to keep the euro together.
http://jlne.ws/OSpEzH