When banks lend money to people with sketchy credit histories - people who can't manage their finances responsibly, the effects can be felt in other parts of the economy. Alderman Wogen isn't just on the verge of putting his own family on the street, he's contributing to a larger national problem with far-reaching implications: market instability. This is yet another reason why "Slick Vic" is nothing more than a sorry hack who's bankrupt on multiple levels - from the personal to the political and everything else in between.
http://www.business-standard.com/smartinvestor/storypage.php?leftnm=0&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=294677&tab=r
Trouble in the mortgage market
SUBPRIME MARKET CRISIS IMPACT: FAQ
Bloomberg Mumbai August 16, 2007
What is happening in the mortgage market?
The riskiest segment of the US mortgage market, which serves borrowers with poor credit histories at high interest rates, has seen rising default rates in recent months.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said lenders began foreclosure against more than one of every 200 US mortgage borrowers in the fourth quarter, a record.
What types of loans are considered 'subprime'?
There are "no doc" loans. That's when you get a loan without giving the lender any documentation about your income. There are also "low doc" loans, or when you get a loan with just a little paperwork about your employment and income.
The number of non-traditional loans extended with low or no documentation jumped from 53.9 percent in 2003 to 65.7 percent in 2005, according to First American Loan Performance, which tallies home mortgage data.
How did this crisis come about?
While subprime mortgages have spread credit more widely and helped more people buy their own homes, critics contend a hot real estate market encouraged lenders to get more aggressive and offer increasingly complicated terms that borrowers did not always fully understand. These risks are being exposed as the housing market cools.
What's happening to the lenders?
Waning demand from investors for home loans has toppled more than 70 mortgage companies and half a dozen hedge funds in the US since the start of last year. Concern over rising defaults has prompted bankers to reduce credit lines for home lenders.
Why is the meltdown among subprime lenders having an impact on the whole US stock market?
There is concern that the crisis could spread to more mainstream lenders and worsen the US housing slowdown. Delinquencies often foreshadow future loan failures and those bad credits could damage other mortgage-backed investments held by a wide range of investors.
Some economists worry that as house prices fall and lenders tighten credit terms, consumers will curb spending and drag down the US economy.
What would be the damages?
The US subprime mortgage crisis will cost credit investors about $150 billion in losses worldwide, according to Calyon, the investment banking unit of Credit Agricole SA, France's third-largest bank by market value.
Foreclosures may reach 20 percent of the $1.3 trillion of subprime mortgages outstanding, according to a research note. Assuming investors can recoup half their investments, losses would be $130 billion, it said.
A further $20 billion could also be lost from the $1 trillion of outstanding Alt-A mortgages offered to borrowers with better credit who fell just short of typical standards. Various other estimates for total subprime losses range from $50 billion to $200 billion, according to the report. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last month cited potential estimated losses of between $50 billion and $100 billion.
What's the outlook?
Some analysts believe the crisis in the subprime mortgage market could boost the chances of the Federal Reserve cutting its target for benchmark interest rates.
One of the factors driving the poor performance of subprime mortgages has been a series of interest rate increases by the Fed. From 2004 to last summer, benchmark rates rose 4.25 percentage points to 5.25 percent. That has led to a steep rise in payments on adjustable rate mortgages.
"The Fed is aware of the situation, and how raising rates might worsen the situation. " said John Kriz, managing director of real estate finance at Moody's Investors Service, a leading credit ratings agency. "Our view is that it is less likely that rates will rise and more likely they will fall."
The Fed may have done enough after adding $62 billion to the banking system on August 9 and 10 and pledging further funds as necessary, says Dominic Konstam, head of interest-rate strategy at Credit Suisse in New York. Stocks rallied worldwide on Wednesday, while the ECB said today it's optimistic that "market conditions are normalising.''
Additional articles:
- "Many homes lost to foreclosures"
- "Foreclosures Up 55% In First Half Of 2007"
- "Climbing out of foreclosure"
http://www.business-standard.com/smartinvestor/storypage.php?leftnm=0&subLeft=2&chklogin=N&autono=294677&tab=r
Trouble in the mortgage market
SUBPRIME MARKET CRISIS IMPACT: FAQ
Bloomberg Mumbai August 16, 2007
What is happening in the mortgage market?
The riskiest segment of the US mortgage market, which serves borrowers with poor credit histories at high interest rates, has seen rising default rates in recent months.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said lenders began foreclosure against more than one of every 200 US mortgage borrowers in the fourth quarter, a record.
What types of loans are considered 'subprime'?
There are "no doc" loans. That's when you get a loan without giving the lender any documentation about your income. There are also "low doc" loans, or when you get a loan with just a little paperwork about your employment and income.
The number of non-traditional loans extended with low or no documentation jumped from 53.9 percent in 2003 to 65.7 percent in 2005, according to First American Loan Performance, which tallies home mortgage data.
How did this crisis come about?
While subprime mortgages have spread credit more widely and helped more people buy their own homes, critics contend a hot real estate market encouraged lenders to get more aggressive and offer increasingly complicated terms that borrowers did not always fully understand. These risks are being exposed as the housing market cools.
What's happening to the lenders?
Waning demand from investors for home loans has toppled more than 70 mortgage companies and half a dozen hedge funds in the US since the start of last year. Concern over rising defaults has prompted bankers to reduce credit lines for home lenders.
Why is the meltdown among subprime lenders having an impact on the whole US stock market?
There is concern that the crisis could spread to more mainstream lenders and worsen the US housing slowdown. Delinquencies often foreshadow future loan failures and those bad credits could damage other mortgage-backed investments held by a wide range of investors.
Some economists worry that as house prices fall and lenders tighten credit terms, consumers will curb spending and drag down the US economy.
What would be the damages?
The US subprime mortgage crisis will cost credit investors about $150 billion in losses worldwide, according to Calyon, the investment banking unit of Credit Agricole SA, France's third-largest bank by market value.
Foreclosures may reach 20 percent of the $1.3 trillion of subprime mortgages outstanding, according to a research note. Assuming investors can recoup half their investments, losses would be $130 billion, it said.
A further $20 billion could also be lost from the $1 trillion of outstanding Alt-A mortgages offered to borrowers with better credit who fell just short of typical standards. Various other estimates for total subprime losses range from $50 billion to $200 billion, according to the report. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke last month cited potential estimated losses of between $50 billion and $100 billion.
What's the outlook?
Some analysts believe the crisis in the subprime mortgage market could boost the chances of the Federal Reserve cutting its target for benchmark interest rates.
One of the factors driving the poor performance of subprime mortgages has been a series of interest rate increases by the Fed. From 2004 to last summer, benchmark rates rose 4.25 percentage points to 5.25 percent. That has led to a steep rise in payments on adjustable rate mortgages.
"The Fed is aware of the situation, and how raising rates might worsen the situation. " said John Kriz, managing director of real estate finance at Moody's Investors Service, a leading credit ratings agency. "Our view is that it is less likely that rates will rise and more likely they will fall."
The Fed may have done enough after adding $62 billion to the banking system on August 9 and 10 and pledging further funds as necessary, says Dominic Konstam, head of interest-rate strategy at Credit Suisse in New York. Stocks rallied worldwide on Wednesday, while the ECB said today it's optimistic that "market conditions are normalising.''
Additional articles:
- "Many homes lost to foreclosures"
- "Foreclosures Up 55% In First Half Of 2007"
- "Climbing out of foreclosure"
21 comments:
Market instability you say? Was it Victor's fault that his old boss died from cancer too?
Did you even bother to do research on how many people in the U.S lose their jobs due to circumstances beyond their control? Just these past few months, I personally know of 15 people that lost their jobs or got laid off etc... It is very devastating to say the least!
You guys have absolutely no clue as to what you're talking about!
There you again... Printing a headline w/out the entire truth behind it! (You are no better than that election flier!)
You guys make me sick! You are very, very cruel & heartless in my book! I pray to God that this site will come back to haunt you!
I also lost my job a month ago. I could be facing the same awful situation as Victor Wogen. I refuse to talk about someone else's finances as well as their personal problems. It's none of my business and it certainly isn't any of your business either.
I find this site somewhat disturbing. But I guess people in this world today get satisfaction knowing that someone else is in worse shape than they are.
Signed, I might lose my home too.
I thought Wogen's money problems were because of his accident as someone wrote weeks ago. But now someone wrote it was because he lost his job from Custom Stone? Which is it? I thought his money problems started years before his lost his job (the court document said "terminated") with Custom Stone.
To the person who lost their job a month ago--I am sorry to hear that. Good luck, and best wishes.
The number of foreclosures is way up, probably before this is over there will be bankers out of jobs and houses, too. This is not a happy time in the financial world.
The word "terminated" in the court documents would reflect the actual state of employment. Courts are very clear that you cannot say a person has been "laid off" if they have been "terminated".
This is because there are protections in Chapter 13 that allow loss of earnings through no fault of the debtor to affect Chapter 13, but not in a negative way.
So, "terminated" is not the same as "lost my job because the boss died of cancer".
Besides that, the termination happened before his employer's death, not after.
Diana, You beat me to that comment. It's just another excuse for not being responsible enough to handle your own financial affairs.The Wogen Campis full of them. As long as they keepenabling him thebe irresponsible it won't end. The company is still in businesseven after the unfortunate death of the owner. I have heard from a reliable source that it was
Victors'telling clients that he to take over after the owners death that got him terminated. That and some shady dealings with the funds. Maybe the Wogen Camp can give us the facts on that since they know them all.
Wogen needs a 12-step program to stop lying and the family members need their own 12-step program to stop being enablers and co-dependent. The first step is admitting there is a problem.
The Dr. Phil's little brother part was a joke. The rest of it was not. I hope the Wogen family gets the help they need so they can learn to take responsibility for their own actions, and understand that those actions have consequences. None of them seemed to understand that a series of lies would lead to rampant mistrust. Not all of us think like they do. Family members may be used to lies, and moving on but not all of us are used to being lied to so much and so frequently, for even the stupidest things. Wogen's campaign materials even lied about how many years he lived in DeKalb. There was a lie about the job of Jill Draves, which is just silly and unnecessary.
what do you mean by wogen family members all need help? what kind of ill comment is that? you do not know them at all. for you to drag the entire family into this is totally wrong.
shame on you and others on this hideous site that only assume and turn a story into an even bigger story (false statements) by not fully knowing the entire truth!
Silvia:
until you know the truth, please stop printing half truths!
Sure, the company is still doing business (not much business, mind you). The reason they let Victor Wogen go was because they no longer could afford to pay him what they originally had been paying him. The owners have hired and fired quite a few of their employees over the yrs. If they didn't like someone, they were fired on the spot! I personally know over 10 people that had been fired from there (during a very short period!) and those people never did anything wrong!
Please THINK before you speak!!
They wanted the company to be run by family. Victor was the vice-president and got along very well /w the owner. After the owner got cancer, the wife decided to make a family member the vice pres!
Now Silvia, how can you believe that person who told you that Victor was going around telling everyone he wanted to buy the company? Use your head a little here- Anyone that really knows Victor, knows that he doesn't have the funds to purchase an entire company! that's the silliest comment yet!
Anonymous still cannot read. No one wrote "all" family members need help.
Just the family members who help him cover up lies by being in denial of the lies need help. It is called co-dependency and/or enabling. Go look it up.
Keep reading what you think people are writing. That is yet another symptom of enabling.
I have every reason to believe the person who told me about Wogens' termination.
You are right about the comment that Wogen was buying the company is silly. In fact it was down right stupid on his part to have even said it to anyone. In fact aI didn't say buy I said take over. In his position as V.P. it was totally within his character to be so arrogant to assume he would be the boss. His taking of funds is an entirely different matter and would get any of us fired on the spot. And maybe a little jail time to boot. Those of you speaking in his defense are so in denial it is pathetic. You can say what ever you want. I do know the facts. In addition, since he was making so much money why didn't he pay his debts!!!
For the other comment, if Wogen doesn't have money, then WHERE did he get the campaign money?
what do you mean by the family members that help Victor cover up his lies? Victor and his wife has had nothing but problems since this election. There has been several heated arguments between them on this very subject. Victor can thank the citizens for a better 3rd ward for that! They stuck their noses where they dont belong and has possibly broken up their family because of it!
Now that was too much information!!
On this blog, someone has written as a "Wogen family member" and tried to cover for Wogen. That person did not disclose what family member he or she was. The person could have been fourth cousin twice removed for all we know. There have not been any messages written by "Wogen family member" in a long time because that person received a lot of comments back. Lots more messages by "Anonymous" appeared, all trying to make excuses for Wogen.
Nobody wrote anything about Kathy!!
What goes on between them is personal and does not belong on this blog. What documents the courts have and how Johnson does her job because of trying to help and/or cover for Wogen do belong on this blog. Whether or not he can manage money belongs on this blog. Personally, he has NO BUSINESS making any decisions about anybody's TAX money until he can get his financial house in order. Yes, lots of people get into money trouble but lots of people do NOT get dragged into court, numerous times, over and over. I heard a rumor that despite money troubles a while back, Wogen bought a new truck. **IF** the rumor is true, what was that all about? People with money problems usually drive used vehicles.
We know he has a personalized license plate. There was some money wasted. People with money problems should not waste money on "vanity" plates.
But personal relationships do not belong here because that is not business that belongs in the public interest. Lying about an election postcard is in the public interest. What goes on inside the Wogen household away from the newspapers (i.e. Tessa entered the fray with the letter to the editor) is not anybody's business.
Is mentioning that is some ploy to get people to feel sorry for Wogen?
Now, had Wogen not lied about the postcards and just came forward and said, yes, I took the postcards to the Post Office, then there never, ever would have been a controversy, and there never would have been a Wogen Watch site. Had Wogen resigned like he should have, the controversy would have ended and everyone would have forgotten all about this.
So yet again, it is always someone else's fault that Wogen has woes.
Will he EVER take ANY responsibility for HIS ACTIONS?? Who took the postcards to the Post Office!!?? The tooth fairy??
Are you another family member (or friend of the family) helping to make more excuses? Who ever you are, you seem to know what is going on in the Wogen house. I do not want to know what goes on between family members.
What belongs on this site are answers to if all the laws were followed. Here is a list of the known, suspected, and alleged laws that might have been broken so far:
Johnson broke at least two, not processing the FOIA correctly (federal) and not getting the minutes done on time (state, and she received a letter of reprimand for that already).
Wogen probably, allegedly, most likely, etc. etc. broke more by:
Spending more than $3,000 and not filing with the State Board of Elections. How stupid does he/they think we are? We can find out what things cost. Those Wogen signs and everything else did not come FREE.
He clearly did not have the money to run, so another law was broken by not disclosing who gave him the money.
He took possession of someone else's mail which is a federal violation (that is, if any of us believe that he didn't know who did the postcards).
**IF** he owed the city money when he ran, then his whole campaign was ILLEGAL from get go.
Those are just the violations. Do I need to enumerate the LIES???
Will ANYONE on the Wogen excuses side ever understand that it was not the postcards themselves that made everyone mad but the LIES that Wogen told about the postcards!!!!??????
He has NOBODY but HIMSELF to BLAME.
A small handful of people were upset about the anti-gay comment on the postcards but had Wogen told the TRUTH about taking the postcards to the Post Office, it would have been easier to move on. Instead, he LIED to people right to their FACES about the postcards. Because there is an unending pattern of blaming everyone else instead of taking responsibility, Wogen has zero credibility and should just resign.
It seems that the people (or person) on the Wogen Excuses side cannot understand that it was not the postcards themselves that were the trigger for the problems but the LIES about them. Nobody from the Citizens for a Better Third Ward told him to LIE about the postcards right to the faces of his neighbors. He cannot shift the blame to them. It is his own LIES that took all credibility and trust away from himself.
The thing about the bars and the smoking wasn't Wogen's fault, either, right Wogen Excuses side? He wasn't smart enough to let sleeping dogs lie, huh? It was all the bar owners' fault, right?
It wasn't Wogen's fault he voted to give the lobbyist a pay raise, huh?
It's not Wogen's fault almost no one in the Third Ward wants to help him because he is a liar who cannot be trusted, right?
How many other votes will Wogen make that he won't take responsibility for, huh?
Sorry, Homey don't play that game. The voters will hold Wogen responsible.
Victor and his wife has had nothing but problems since this election. There has been several heated arguments between them on this very subject.
That is indeed a shame (seriously), but as a married man myself, I can't help but think this wasn't the first time Wogen lied to his wife. It's not like the lies he told the voters were the first ones he's ever told in his life.
Victor can thank the citizens for a better 3rd ward for that!
Actually, Wogen can thank the Chronicle, because it was through their reporting that Wogen's lies to the voters of the Third Ward came to light. Please, stop writing revisionist history.
They stuck their noses where they dont belong and has possibly broken up their family because of it!
I understand your anger, but please, don't blame this on us. We didn't tell Wogen to lie, and we certainly have nothing to do with whatever he's told his family in the past, present, or future.
You're missing a huge piece of the bigger picture. There's no way that this becomes something that tears a family apart if this is an isolated incident that has never happened before. Spouses are forgiving of a first-time mistake ... they are not forgiving of repeat offenses.
This goes to something that has probably been going on for awhile ... the difference here being that the lies were discovered in a very public way (via the newspaper), and that the lies caused people to investigate the honesty and integrity of the man in a very public way (this blog).
He's paying the price for dragging his entire family through the mud ... and I don't honestly think that Mrs. Wogen is blaming the Chronicle or this blog for the issues at home. She's most likely riding him for putting his foot in his mouth, and thus bringing this maelstrom right to their doorstep.
I don't know that as a fact ... but reason and logic tell me that this isn't the first time Wogen's lying has caused his family pain and embarrassment.
I agree Brian, I also believe that it's never too late to tell the truth!! I can't quite understand a man that would put a minor public office job before his family. He needs to tell the truth or leave. But I doubt that he will do either.
The latest is that Pres. Bush has ideas on how to help some homeowners. No doubt the taxpayers will pay, yet again.
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