Exclusive: Former Barclays trader "has cooperated" with Libor probe

DailyMORTGAGE LOCK ADVISORY 

August 13, 2012, 6:30 am PST

Click for Lock Advice Updated Several Times Daily

Rates could easily move higher or lower, but given the nearness to all time lows, there's generally more risk than reward regarding floating so my advice is to lock.

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Exclusive: Former Barclays trader "has cooperated" with Libor probe
 By Matthew Goldstein and Jennifer Ablan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former Barclays Plc trader who was fired by the bank for sending inappropriate emails about Libor "has cooperated" with the federal criminal probe into the alleged rigging of international benchmark interest rates, according to the New York hedge fund that currently employs the trader.  Read More Reuters

Ten Charged With $40 Million Jersey Shore Mortgage Fraud
 By David Voreacos
Ten people were charged with a $40 million fraud relying on phony documents and straw buyers to bilk mortgage lenders for properties at the New Jersey Shore and resorts in South Carolina and Georgia, prosecutors said.
The 10 were accused today of using unqualified buyers to purchase 28 oceanfront condominiums from financially distressed developers in Wildwood Crest, New Jersey, according to an indictment in federal court in Camden, New Jersey. They used similar methods to buy 21 properties in Georgia and South Carolina, and eight properties in foreclosure in New Jersey. Read More Bloomberg

National Foreclosure Activity Gradually Subsiding; Many States Remain Distressed
 Foreclosure activity appears to finally be on a downward track, although the road is still a rough one in many states.   The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for shows that foreclosure filings were down 3 percent in July compared to June and were 10 percent lower than in July 2011.  This was the 22nd consecutive month that the annual rate declined. Read More Mortgage News Daily

HARP Refinancing Continues to Surge, High LTV Share Skyrockets
 by Jann Swanson
Refinancing through the revised Home Affordable Refinancing Program (HARP 2.0) grew to a 33 percent share of all Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac refinancing in June, surging from the 20 percent share the program posted in April.  The proportion of those refinancings with very high loan to value (LTV) ratios also increased significantly. 
Read More Mortgage News Daily

Housing recovery could lift jobs, spending
 Home prices and new construction have started to pick up in recent months, suggesting the housing market may finally be starting to recover.
After years of depressed activity, home prices and new construction have started to pick up in recent months as foreclosures have slowed, suggesting the housing market may have finally bounced off the bottom.
"It feels very much like we've hit a bottom and we're starting to come off of that bottom," Stuart Miller, CEO of homebuilder Lennar told analysts in June. >> Read More  CNN Money

As Libor Fault-Finding Grows, It is Now Every Bank for Itself