EGSI unveils Dhs4.5bn Le Stelle
EGSI Group of The Al Barakah Group of companies has unveiled its Dhs4.5bn Le Stelle project in Majan-Mizin, Dubailand. The development will consist of Iconic Five Towers, with over 2.2m sqft of land. The towers were named Sirio, Orione, Vega, Fenice and Electra, and will have interiors by Modo Milano. More »
Rera assures Plantation investors
Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Authority (Rera) has assured investors of compensation for the Plantation Equestrian and Polo Club after land for the project was repossessed by Dubai Islamic Bank due to payment default by the project's developer, Gulf News has reported. The project is located in Dubailand and was launched in 2004. The $3.5bn development has promised air-conditioned stables for 800 horses. More »
Little Rock MSA No. 54 Among Milken's Best-Performing Cities List
The Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway metropolitan statistical area ranked No. 54 among the Milken Institute's 2008 list of America's Best-Performing Cities Index. More »
Foreclosure filings increase, but at slower rate (AP)
AP - Foreclosure filings in August increased 27 percent compared to the same month a year ago, a significantly slower pace than in previous months, according to data released Thursday. More »
New York lender admits to fraud of Fannie Mae (Reuters)
Reuters - A former mortgage lender pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiring to commit fraud in a $44 million theft of payoff proceeds for refinanced mortgage loans funded by Fannie Mae. More »
Treasury says GSE guarantees last past 2009 (Reuters)
Reuters - The Treasury will guarantee the mortgage securities and debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that currently exist and those issued at least into 2010, the Treasury said. More »
Democrats urge Fannie, Freddie halt foreclosures (Reuters)
Reuters - Senate Democrats on Thursday urged Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to halt all pending foreclosure proceedings on mortgages they hold for at least 90 days. More »
Fannie, Freddie Takeover Takes a Toll on K Street's Little Guys (CQPolitics.com)
CQPolitics.com - For many who work in government and finance, the Treasury department's takeover of mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac means a change in the way they do business. But for the army of lobbyists that represent the companies, it means an end to business -- period. More »
Democrats call for foreclosure freeze (AP)
AP - Senate Democrats are urging Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to immediately freeze foreclosures on mortgages they hold. More »
AIG has up to $600 mln in Fan, Fred preferred: source (Reuters)
Reuters - American International Group Inc , the world's largest insurer, has exposure to between $550 million and $600 million in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares, according to a source familiar with the investment. More »
30-year mortgages dip to lowest level since April (AP)
AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped sharply this week, falling to the lowest level in five months, as the government's dramatic takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had the hoped-for impact of lowering mortgage rates. More »
Riskier U.S. home loans fell in 2007: regulators (Reuters)
Reuters - Home loans to higher-risk borrowers fell sharply in 2007, as did some riskier practices such as layering "piggyback" mortgages to finance home purchases, U.S. regulators said in a report on Thursday. More »
AIG has $600 million Fannie, Freddie preferred: source (Reuters)
Reuters - American International Group Inc , the world's largest insurer, holds between $550 million and $600 million in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred shares, according to a source familiar with the investment. More »
ADIB property unit plans expansion
Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank plans to put Dhs1bn ($272.3m) into into its Burooj Properties unit for an aggressive real estate expansion outside its home base into Africa, Europe and Asia,the company's managing director Adel Al Zarouni told Reuters. The bank also plans to float a majority of Burooj shares in 2010 as cash profit at the division, which excludes revaluation of assets, should at least triple in 2008 from 2007, he added. More »
Sama Dubai faces arbitration proceedings
Kuwait-based real estate company Al Arabiya is seeking arbitration proceedings against Sama Dubai after the developer blocked the sale of plots in the Lagoons project to Union National Bank, reported UK's Financial Times. Al Arabiya says it agreed to terms of the deal in June with the Abu Dhabi based-bank and with Sama Dubai, which is part of Dubai Holding. The Kuwaiti firm has spent about $272m on 18 plots it acquired in the summer of 2007 at the Lagoons development in the Ras al-Khor area of Dubai. More »
Hydra Properties to attend Cityscape USA
UAE-based Hydra Properties will showcase its projects at Cityscape USA, being held in New York from September 9-12, in a bid to enhance its brand value in the global real estate market. Hydra Properties is also using the event as a platform to soft launch its Al Aqeeq Marina project in Khiran, Kuwait, for the first time in the US. More »
Nobles launches $500m project in Libya
Dubai-based Nobles Properties has signed an agreement with OYA Tourism Investment and Development, a subsidiary of Libya's Economic and Social Development Fund, to launch a $500m mixed-use tower project in Tripoli. The Tripolis Towers, which comprises two 40-storey towers, is situated on a 275,000 sq. ft waterfront plot with a total built-up area of 3.5 million sq. feet. More »
Ferragamo to design penthouses in Dubai
Italian luxury goods maker Salvatore Ferragamo is to design the interior of several luxury penthouses in the 'Pentominium' tower in Dubai as part of an agreement with real estate firm Trident International Holdings, reported Reuters. The tower, which will be more than 500 meters high with 120 floors and 120 penthouses, is expected to be the highest residential building in the world. More »
Health of largest U.S. financials improving: IIF (Reuters)
Reuters - The health of the largest U.S. financial firms is on the mend as the fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis begins to moderate, the managing director of a leading international banking lobby said on Thursday. More »
Freddie, Fannie Were Big Campaign Donors (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may not have managed their mortgage investments wisely, but the loan-funding giants used a savvy strategy of campaign contributions, based on an Investor's Business Daily analysis. More »
Big 3 To Feds: Don't Forget Us (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - Detroit is pushing for government help right on the heels of the federal bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. More »
Funds Survey Post-Fannie Landscape (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - The dust is still settling from the Treasury's weekend seizure of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But winners and losers are emerging. More »
Lehman Bros to sell off assets amid fresh losses (AFP)
AFP - Ailing investment bank Lehman Brothers announced plans Wednesday to sell off key assets to shore up its finances as it posted more hefty losses linked to the US subprime real estate crisis. More »
McCain, other lawmakers invested in GSEs: report (Reuters)
Reuters - Dozens of members of the U.S. Congress, including presidential candidate John McCain, had investments last year in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, possibly putting a keen edge on their interest in the companies' troubles, a watchdog group said on Wednesday. More »
Pulte tops customer satisfaction rankings: study (Reuters)
Reuters - The housing downturn has forced U.S. home builders to improve customer service, resulting in the highest-ever overall customer satisfaction level as measured by an annual survey. More »