For the month of February, the percentage of single-family homes that were three or more months behind in payments fell to 3.57%, the first time since August 2011 that the month-to-month change has fallen. In February 2011 the delinquency rate was 3.78%.

The delinquency rate for multi-family mortgages was flat with January at 0.21%.

Year to date, Freddie’s total mortgage portfolio is down -4% to $2.061 trillion. In February 2011 the agency’s portfolio totaled $2.152 trillion. The agency’s mortgage portfolio shrunk by -6.3% in 2011 and is down -23.4% so far in 2012.

Freddie Mac was taken over by the federal government in September 2008 and has been operating ever since as a conservatorship.

The mortgage volume study is available here.

Americans don’t write as many checks as they used to, but they’re not yet ready to turn their financial lives over to their cell phone provider. Those results headline a new study commissioned by American Express and involving 1,600 American consumers. Researchers found that younger Americans drive new technology adoption, but older Americans’ fears around account security could hinder the adoption of new payment tools.

Half of Americans write fewer checks than five years ago, with one in four Americans abandoning checks in favor of debit and credit cards, according to study’s results. Thirty-nine percent of respondents told researchers that they used debit cards more, while 30 percent have increased use of online bill payment. Only 19 percent of the study participants felt they could use prepaid debit cards as budgeting tools, with most respondents criticizing the card’s fees and their stigma as a tool for consumers with bad credit.

Americans trust credit card issuers over cell phone providers

The study also revealed that 62 percent of Americans would prefer new payment methods from trusted financial institutions, instead of from social media websites or wireless communication providers.

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Media personality Tom Martino, also known as “The Troubleshooter,” has filed a Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver.  The filing lists $78.6 million in debt and $1.37 million in assets.

Martino hosts consumer-advocacy radio and television shows.  He cites failed business real estate projects, failing banks, and the recession as the reasons for his financial difficulties.  Martino stated, “It is commercial real estate debt, every bit of it.  I have no consumer debt.”

The Chapter 7 filing lists 47 creditors, most of which are failed banks that Martino received real estate loans from. “There are so many people in this same boat.  You’ve got millions of dollars in lost value and all of a sudden you can’t refinance your loans and you’re just upside down,” said Martino.

To learn more about filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, contact the West Palm Beach Chapter 7 bankruptcy lawyers of Eric N. Klein & Associates, P.A. by calling 561-353-280

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If you have income from work or investments overseas, it is important that you pay your taxes on this income. This would involve those with dual citizenships and those who have lived and worked in other countries either the whole or part of 2011. The IRS has issued 6 guidelines for you if you fall into this category of taxpayers.

1. Know if it applies to you
Under US tax law, all your overseas income earned through whatever means is taxable even if you are paying taxes in your host country. This includes foreign bank interest, stock dividends, foreign securities income, income from foreign trusts, foreign investment income etc. So even if you do not have a job overseas, you are still liable for tax if you draw income from any of these overseas sources.

2. Meet the deadline
The filing deadline for those with foreign income is June 15 if you are either a military personnel serving abroad or a US citizen or resident alien living overseas.

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A recent study conducted by economists at Columbia University, the University of Chicago, and Washington University in St. Louis found that bankruptcy filings increase after tax refunds are received. According to this study, the total number of bankruptcy cases increased seven percent in 2008 after debtors received their tax refunds.

This research confirms what consumer bankruptcy attorneys have known for years. However, the economists concluded that many Americans could not afford to pay the bankruptcy fees without the tax refund money. Granted, in some cases the bankruptcy client is unable to pay bankruptcy fees and needs tax money for this purpose. However, in many cases the debtor’s attorney will recommend delaying the bankruptcy filing until after the tax refund money has been received and spent.

When you file a bankruptcy case, all of your assets become part of a bankruptcy estate overseen by a bankruptcy trustee. If you are owed an income tax refund, the refund belongs to the bankruptcy estate.

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As our Chicago bankruptcy lawyers have discussed on our blog many times, Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Chicago has gained popularity in recent years.

This form of bankruptcy allows debtors to pay back a portion of what they owe over a three- to five-year period. It also protects their assets, such as a house or vehicles. Chapter 7 bankruptcy, the most popular form of bankruptcy, doesn’t require payments, but assets are put at risk for liquidation.

Because many working-class Americans have found themselves battling debt due to the failing economy, job loss, rising medical costs and other factors, Chapter 13 has become a more attractive option. If they have valuables they want to keep, bankruptcy filers may be more inclined to attempt Chapter 13. Also, if they have a steady income, they may not qualify for Chapter 7.

A recent case out of Missouri, however, shows that while bankruptcy laws are designed to help consumers, there are strict rules that must be followed.

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Given very low expectations, there are some encouraging signs for  a weak economic recovery in the UK. The OBR increased growth forecasts to 0.8% in the UK for 2012.

Helped by recovery in the service sector, it looks like the UK will avoid a double dip recession. This still leaves GDP below the 2008 peak with unemployment close to record levels, but looking at some of our European neighbours it could easily have been much worse.

Despite the ongoing economic crisis, the UK economy has retained some protection through:

• Policy of quantitative easing which has helped increase monetary base and a very modest increase in bank lending
• Devaluation of Pound which is slowly starting to help exports
• Limited fall in house prices compared to other countries.

However, there is still mixed evidence on prospects of the economy.

• Consumer confidence levels fell in February reflecting uncertainty over living costs, unemployment and spending cuts.
• Rising Oil prices will continue to depress consumer disposable income with petrol rising to 140p per litre.
• Europe faces a much more serious recession.

Full article…