Refinance News

It’s that time again. Time to remind everyone that that there are plenty of other disasters-in-the-making coming down the pike — aside from all those poorly-managed financial institutions that are poised to go under — that will require an urgent seeing-to in the not-too-distant future. They include the nation’s taxpayer-financed social safety net for aging Americans. In “Medicare Running Out of Funds, Requiring Changes,” Bloomberg gives us the latest.

Spending on Medicare, the U.S. health-care program for the elderly, will reach a legal limit by 2014, requiring the next president to propose changes.

The report issued today is the second consecutive year that Medicare’s trustees have pulled the so-called trigger, a law mandating that the president introduce legislation the following year to protect the program’s financing.

President George W. Bush proposed in February that wealthier seniors pay higher premiums for Medicare’s prescription drug benefit to increase revenue. Bush’s plan, which Democrats in Congress dismissed as insufficient, was required by the trustees’ report of 2007. Because of the new report, Bush’s successor will have to offer proposals next year. The trustees also urged action to shore up Social Security, the government’s retirement program.

“As the baby boom generation moves into retirement, these programs face progressively larger financial challenges,” said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, one of the trustees, in a press conference. “The Medicare program poses a far greater financial challenge than Social Security.”

The trustees, all members of the Bush administration, offered projections for Medicare and Social Security similar to those in last year’s report. They again estimated that Medicare’s hospital fund will be insolvent by 2019, although earlier in that year than previously predicted, and that Social Security will run out of assets by 2041.

Medicare’s Share

Medicare’s share of the U.S. economy is expected to grow to 10.8 percent by 2082, the end of the 75-year projection period, from 3.2 percent in 2007, according to the report.

Medicare, started in 1965 to guarantee medical coverage to elderly and disabled patients, currently covers 44 million Americans. The program, which spent about $440 billion last year, is financed through a mix of payroll taxes, general tax revenue and beneficiary premiums.

When general tax revenue is projected to reach 45 percent of Medicare funding, the president is required under a 2003 law to propose legislative changes to reduce the share. The law was passed by Congress to keep spending on Medicare within bounds as the “baby boom” generation born from 1946 to 1964 qualifies for coverage and health-care costs grow faster than the economy.

Bush proposed in his fiscal 2009 budget holding the annual growth in Medicare spending to 5 percent, down from the projected 7.2 percent, largely by reducing payments to medical providers.

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have said they plan to hold down the rise in health-care spending through more cost-effective treatments, better preventive care and wider use of electronic records.

John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has suggested similar measures, while proposing that Medicare reduce spending by paying a single fee for treatment of a disease, rather than reimbursing providers for individual procedures.

It’s that time again. Time to remind everyone that that there are plenty of other disasters-in-the-making coming down the pike — aside from all those poorly-managed financial institutions that are poised to go under — that will require an urgent seeing-to in the not-too-distant future. They include the nation’s taxpayer-financed social safety net for aging Americans. In “Medicare Running Out of Funds, Requiring Changes,” Bloomberg gives us the latest.

Spending on Medicare, the U.S. health-care program for the elderly, will reach a legal limit by 2014, requiring the next president to propose changes.

The report issued today is the second consecutive year that Medicare’s trustees have pulled the so-called trigger, a law mandating that the president introduce legislation the following year to protect the program’s financing.

President George W. Bush proposed in February that wealthier seniors pay higher premiums for Medicare’s prescription drug benefit to increase revenue. Bush’s plan, which Democrats in Congress dismissed as insufficient, was required by the trustees’ report of 2007. Because of the new report, Bush’s successor will have to offer proposals next year. The trustees also urged action to shore up Social Security, the government’s retirement program.

“As the baby boom generation moves into retirement, these programs face progressively larger financial challenges,” said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, one of the trustees, in a press conference. “The Medicare program poses a far greater financial challenge than Social Security.”

The trustees, all members of the Bush administration, offered projections for Medicare and Social Security similar to those in last year’s report. They again estimated that Medicare’s hospital fund will be insolvent by 2019, although earlier in that year than previously predicted, and that Social Security will run out of assets by 2041.

Medicare’s Share

Medicare’s share of the U.S. economy is expected to grow to 10.8 percent by 2082, the end of the 75-year projection period, from 3.2 percent in 2007, according to the report.

Medicare, started in 1965 to guarantee medical coverage to elderly and disabled patients, currently covers 44 million Americans. The program, which spent about $440 billion last year, is financed through a mix of payroll taxes, general tax revenue and beneficiary premiums.

When general tax revenue is projected to reach 45 percent of Medicare funding, the president is required under a 2003 law to propose legislative changes to reduce the share. The law was passed by Congress to keep spending on Medicare within bounds as the “baby boom” generation born from 1946 to 1964 qualifies for coverage and health-care costs grow faster than the economy.

Bush proposed in his fiscal 2009 budget holding the annual growth in Medicare spending to 5 percent, down from the projected 7.2 percent, largely by reducing payments to medical providers.

Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have said they plan to hold down the rise in health-care spending through more cost-effective treatments, better preventive care and wider use of electronic records.

John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, has suggested similar measures, while proposing that Medicare reduce spending by paying a single fee for treatment of a disease, rather than reimbursing providers for individual procedures.

Thornburg Mortgage, the beleaguered home loan lender that struggled to meet margin calls over the last few months that could have forced the company into bankruptcy protection, said it expects to resume lending soon, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The company’s Chief Executive Larry Goldstone told the Journal in an interview that “within weeks, if not [...]

Mortgage loan application volume plunged 28.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending March 28, 2008 compared to a week earlier, the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) said today.
On an unadjusted basis, the refinance application index decreased 28.1 percent compared with the previous week and was up 4.8 percent compared with the same [...]

The Federal Reserve announced the release of a series of dynamic maps and corresponding data that illustrates the quality of subprime and Alt-A refinances throughout the country.
The maps, which are maintained by the Federal Reserve of Bank of New York and scheduled to be updated monthly, display the conditions and density of owner-occupied subprime and [...]

Research and consulting firm Celent released a study yesterday titled, “Pathology of the US Mortgage Crisis,” which examines the evolution of the credit crunch from its humble beginnings as a U.S. subprime refinance problem to the subsequent global liquidity crisis that ensued.
The Boston-based firm noted that the global credit market saw a “flight of uncertainty” [...]

National City confirmed today that its Board of Directors are currently considering an array of strategic alternatives for the future direction of the company.
“The review has no impact on National City’s day-to-day operations,” said National City Chairman, President and CEO Peter E. Raskind in a statement. “We remain focused on providing our customers with the [...]

UBS said today that it expects a first quarter loss of roughly $12 billion after write-downs of approximately $19 billion related to U.S. real estate and related structured credit positions.
The Swiss banking giant also announced plans to raise about $15 billion to strengthen Tier 1 capital and said it will create a new unit focused [...]

Two extensions later, jumbo refinance lender Thornburg Mortgage was able to raise the much needed capital to stave off a potential bankruptcy and make good with its own lenders.
The Santa Fe, New Mexico-based company said late last night that it raised $1.35 billion via a private placement of senior subordinated secured notes and warrants.
Thornburg has [...]

The most expensive homes in the United States experienced the highest rate of depreciation in 2007, according to Zillow’s Q4 Home Value report released today.
The real estate analysis company broke down the U.S. housing market and 125 Metropolitan Statistical Areas into five value bands, including bottom, lower middle, middle, upper middle, and top.
They found that [...]