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CFPB Collects More than 55K Consumer Complaints

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently passed its one-year anniversary, and Monday, the agency released its semi-annual report for 2012 highlighting its achievements in the first half of this year. Between July 21, 2011 and June 30, 2012, the CFPB received 55,300 complaints about consumer finance products, according to a press release. Some of the top consumer complaints include, inability to modify or refinance mortgage loans, inability to refinance or consolidate student loans, confusion regarding credit scores, and confusion regarding various terms of credit. The greatest single source of complaints, making up 43 percent of all complaints made to the CFPB, was mortgages.

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DeMarco Reiterates Stance Against Principal Forgiveness after Analysis

FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco released a statement Tuesday reiterating his stance that offering principal reduction for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans is not in the best interest of the GSEs and taxpayers. DeMarco has faced a barrage of criticism for not allowing the GSEs to apply the Home Affordable Modification Program Principal Reduction Alternative (HAMP PRA) program to underwater loans and has been urged by lawmakers to reconsider his position. After what DeMarco said was extensive analysis, he stated, ""FHFA has concluded that the anticipated benefits do not outweigh the costs and risks.""

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Personal Income Soared in June While Consumer Spending Dropped

Personal income rose $61.8 billion in June but consumers held on to it as personal spending fell 1.3 billion in the month, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Tuesday. The increase in income - 0.5 percent - topped expectations of a 0.4 percent boost, but the 0.01 percent decline in spending fell short of the 0.1 percent increase economists had expected.

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Clinton’s Path to Industry’s Five Star Conference Runs Through Charlotte

Former President Bill Clinton will stop off at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, North Carolina, before making his way to the Five Star Conference and Expo in Dallas, Texas, where he is scheduled to address the mortgage industry's largest gathering of default servicing professionals. Media outlets were abuzz Monday with news that Clinton is slated to give the official nomination speech naming President Barack Obama as his party's presidential candidate on Wednesday, September 5, just two days before his speech at the 2012 Five Star Conference.

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Jury Convicts Two Attorneys Over $25M Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Two New York attorneys were convicted of 10 felony counts for their roles in a $25 million mortgage fraud scheme, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced in a statement Monday. Matthew Burstein, 40, and Aaron Rabinowitz, 40, of the law firm Burstein & Rabinowitz were allegedly involved in a scheme that resulted in over $25 million in fraudulently-obtained loans from Countrywide Financial, Fremont Investment and Loan, IndyMac Bank, Sun Trust Mortgage, Inc., Wells Fargo & Company, and New Century Mortgage Corporation. The defendants could face up to 30 years in prison.

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The Recession’s Impact on Confidence in Homeownership

While younger folks are oftentimes viewed as being more prone to taking risks than more elderly people, a study found that this idea doesn’t ring true when it comes to buying a home during an economic downturn. The study was authored by economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Anat Bracha and Julian C. Jamison, and examined how the recession affected attitudes toward homeownership. The study found that people who lived in hardest-hit ZIP codes in 2008 were significantly more likely to be confident about owning a home if they are older (over 58), but are significantly less likely to be confident about owning a home if they are younger.

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Homeownership Rate Edges Up After 15-year Low, Vacancy Rates Fall

The nation’s homeownership rate rose to 65.5 percent in the second quarter, the Census Bureau reported Friday. The Census Bureau though revised downward the homeownership rate for the first quarter to 65.4 percent (from the originally reported 65.5 percent), the lowest since the first quarter of 1997 when the rate was also 65.4 percent. The Census Bureau also reported the homeowner vacancy rate fell to 2.1 percent nationwide, down from 2.2 percent in the first quarter and 2.5 percent one year ago. The homeowner vacancy rate is at its lowest level since the first quarter of 2006.

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GDP Growth Slows to 1.5% in Q2 as Government Spending Drops

The U.S. economy grew at a disappointing 1.5 percent in the second quarter, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Friday, down from an upwardly revised 2.0 percent growth rate in the first quarter but better than expected. The growth pace is below the 3.0 percent level needed to add jobs to make a dent in the nation’s unemployment rate. Indeed the GDP report covered the same quarter which saw the weakest job growth – 225,000 jobs – since the third quarter of 2010 when the economy grew at a relatively robust 2.5 percent.

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