Incorporation in Georgia Kit

Home loan demand nudge higher in latest week (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. mortgage applications nudged up last week, reflecting increased demand for home purchase loans even as interest rates trekked higher, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

Management Education on the Fly (BusinessWeek)
BusinessWeek - Who got us into this mess? It's not just greedy mortgage lenders and irresponsible economists who are responsible for the current financial crisis. Leaders, so called, have played a role too, by not managing their companies and so being detached from what was going on in them. And behind much of this has been an educational process that encouraged such detachment. As I've argued at length in my book, Managers not MBAs, the MBA is fine education -- but in the functions of business, not the exercise of managing. ...

Summary Box: Consumer borrowing up in January (AP)
AP - BORROWING UP: Consumer credit rose by $4.96 billion in January, breaking a record string of 11 consecutive declines.

Commercial delinquency lower than other mortgages (AP)
AP - Commercial mortgages were among the best-performing loans and leases held by banks and thrifts in the fourth quarter of last year, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Tuesday.

Treasury restates support for Fannie, Freddie (AP)
AP - The Treasury Department was forced Friday to reiterate its financial support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after a key lawmaker rattled investors by pointing out that their debt does not enjoy the explicit guarantee of the federal government.

MetLife seals Alico deal after two-year quest (Reuters)

Reuters - MetLife Inc pursued AIG's foreign life insurance business for two years before finally clinching a $15.5 billion purchase that will give it beachheads in 47 nations from Peru to Bangladesh.

Upper-income households report less distress (Reuters)
Reuters - Sentiment of U.S. households in the top fifth of the income distribution improved in early 2010 compared with 2009, but worries over personal finances persist, a survey showed on Friday.

AIG to get $231M if sale of Asian unit crumbles (AP)
AP - American International Group Inc. will receive a termination fee of $230.6 million if the sale of its Asian life insurance business to Britain's Prudential PLC falls through.

Nationalized UK bank Northern Rock back in profit (AP)
AP - Nationalized mortgage lender Northern Rock said Wednesday that it returned to profit in the second half of 2009 as interest income rose and losses on loans fell.

Lawmaker is working to improve loan modifications (AP)
AP - A key lawmaker is working with banks, regulators and the Obama administration on a new way to boost the government's struggling foreclosure prevention effort by encouraging banks to reduce the total amount borrowers owe.

AIG set for $15.5 bln deal with MetLife: report (AFP)

AFP - US insurance giants American International Group and MetLife will on Monday announce a $15.5 billion deal for AIG's second-largest foreign life-insurance business, The Wall Street Journal reported.

One Congressman's Solution for Boosting Small Businesses Loans (The Motley Fool)
The Motley Fool - The first Friday of every month brings the all-important employment report. February's numbers were better than anticipated. The United States lost only 36,000 jobs, versus the 68,000 that experts expected. This compares with 651,000 jobs lost in February 2009. Still, the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%, with the unofficial rate stuck around a whopping 16%.