Personal Finance

This Week in Credit News: Fannie, Freddie & the Fed

August 2, 2012 by Kali Geldis 0 Comments

Two major groups have decided to lay low this week by not taking action to spur the economy. Only time will tell what effect this week’s news will have on borrowers and Americans in general.

Fed Says U.S. Economy Has Slowed, Takes No New Steps

The Federal Reserve released a statement Wednesday that looked eerily like the statement it released in June. But perhaps that’s because they were almost identical, except for the fact that the Fed acknowledged there has been slower growth in the economy recently.

“The Fed took no action at this meeting but strongly hinted that there will be further easing action at the next meeting in September,” said David Jones, chief economist at DMJ Advisors, told the Associated Press.

Looks like there might be good news down the road for borrowers after all.

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@ap

Principal Reduction: Is Debt Forgiveness Fair?

In a move that surprised many, the Federal Housing Finance Agency blocked Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from reducing mortgage principals for homeowners this week.

Democrats, including President Obama himself, have been pushing principal reductions as a solution to housing troubles that are still plaguing many homeowners. The program would simply adjust the total amount of the mortgage for a homeowner, not adjust the interest rate.

@aolrealestate @tkwiggin

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The Biggest Consumer Complaints of 2011

The Consumer Federation of America and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators released an in-depth report this week on the top complaints that local and state consumer protection agencies received last year. The results show that autos and credit and debt remain the top concerns plaguing consumers, but specific trends within the categories are extremely interesting.

Timeshares saw a spike in consumer complaints last year, as many people reported scammy timeshare promotions that promised non-existent prizes for attendance and issues with re-selling timeshare properties.

Another interesting trend within the report showed that scam artists are increasingly using prepaid cards as a means of getting cash out of consumers quickly before they can notice that they’ve been scammed.

@CreditExperts

Image: NS Newsflash, via Flickr