Industry News
Bellamo Joins PCR\’s Middletown Office
February 3, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkChris Bellamo has recently joined Prudential Connecticut Realty (PCR) as a sales executive, joining PCR’s Middletown office.
What Are These ‘On-The-Fence’ Buyers Thinking?
By Kenneth R. Harney | Washington Post Columnist | January 28, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkIf you’d love to purchase a new house but you’re sitting on the fence, what exactly would it take to get you to buy?
Mortgage rates lower than today’s 5 percent range? Smaller down payments? Below-market value pricing? Special amenity packages? Or a big tax credit?
Insurers File Suit Against SEC Over Annuities Rule
By Lee Gjertsen | Commercial Record Correspondent | January 28, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA group of insurance companies and marketers is suing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over a new rule that says indexed annuities are to be regulated as securities.
Experts Wait Out Cheap Banks Stocks
By Pallavi Gogoi | Gannett News Service | January 28, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkPortfolio manager Eric Boyce of Hester Capital Management talks about great stock-buying opportunities every morning when he meets with his fellow investment professionals in their Austin offices. But they aren’t lured by bank stocks, even though once blue-chip institutions, including Citigroup and Bank of America, are trading like penny stocks.
Madoff Insurance Pain Revs Up
By Laura Schreier | Commercial Record Staff Writer | January 28, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkBernard Madoff’s investors got hit hard, but liability insurers are also about to get smacked: As Madoff-related lawsuits pile up, insurers are working to figure out how much, exactly, they’re going to have to pay for claims.
Lenders, Let The Fire Sales Begin!
By Matt Carter | Inman News | January 28, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkWhile the government’s efforts to keep lenders solvent may have allowed them to hold off on selling some properties at fire-sale prices in 2008, real estate brokers and auctioneers expect REOs to be big business in many markets this year.
FTC To Foreclosure Fix-It Firms: You Better Deliver The Goods
By Kenneth R. Harney | Washington Post Columnist | January 23, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkYou\’ve probably seen the incessant TV and Internet pitches – “We can stop your foreclosure!” – offering hope to millions of homeowners who are either behind on their mortgage payments or heading to foreclosure.

Introducing ‘The MLS Bill of Rights’
By Glenn Roberts Jr. | Inman News | January 22, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkA broker-controlled statewide MLS in Connecticut has released “The MLS Bill of Rights,” a document that denounces MLS boundaries as barriers to business and calls for MLS participants to have access to all property listings in the state or states where they are licensed.
09 Marks Deadline For Death Data Update
By Laura Schreier | Commercial Record Staff Writer | January 22, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkLife insurance companies make money by figuring out when you’re likely to die, and charging you accordingly. But until this year, life insurance companies could base their mortality expectations on almost 30-year-old data.
Consolidation Looming For Life Insurance Industry?
By Lee Gjertsen | Commercial Record Correspondent | January 22, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe financial crisis is reverberating through the insurance industry, causing significant drops an assets and surplus, and bringing the strong possibility of increased merger and acquisition activity as weakened firms sell out to larger competitors, according to a new report by Conning Research and Consulting, Inc.
Commercial Real Estate, Ancillary Firms Suffering
By Sue Kirchhoff | Gannett News Service | January 22, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkTom Howorth is feeling the impact of the crumbling real estate market.
SEC To Foreclosure Fix-It Firms: You Better Deliver The Goods
By Kenneth R. Harney | Washington Post Columnist | January 19, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkYou\’ve probably seen the incessant TV and Internet pitches – “We can stop your foreclosure!” – offering hope to millions of homeowners who are either behind on their mortgage payments or heading to foreclosure.
Controversy Created By Feds’ New Appraiser Rules
By Kenneth R. Harney | Washington Post Columnist | January 14, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkWhen you apply for a mortgage to buy or refinance a house, should you be concerned that your appraiser is being paid much less – maybe just half – of the $300 to $600 you’re charged on your settlement sheet? Should you know who pockets the rest, or that cut-rate fees are too low to attract the most experienced, highly trained appraisers?
Return To Old Ways Won’t Save Real Estate
January 14, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkEditor’s Note: The following is an Inman News Q&A with Manuel J. Iraola, president and CEO for Homekeys, a company that offers online real estate tools and services:
Q: Imagine how the real estate industry will be different when we recover from the current downturn.
Banks Reduce Credit Card Rewards
By Kathy Chu | Gannett News Service | January 14, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkBanks are getting stingier with their credit card rewards programs.
Sports Contest Businessman Has Cross-Country Legal Woes
By Laura Schreier | Commercial Record Staff Writer | January 14, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkThe Connecticut Insurance Department announced a potentially record-breaking $6 million fine against a Connecticut business earlier this month for selling insurance without a license – but this is far from the first time the businessman in question has faced legal or regulatory trouble.
Flexibility Or Playing With Fire?
By Laura Schreier | Commercial Record staff writer | January 14, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkYears of fiscally risky behavior helped topple U.S. business giants and helped create the wounded economy. Now life insurance companies are trying to emulate the very behavior that helped get the country into this mess in the first place, according to consumer advocate groups.
Fannie, Freddie Ease Mod Plans For Strapped Borrowers
By Kenneth R. Harney | Washington Post Columnist | January 13, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkHere\’s some good news for homeowners facing tough financial times: They no longer have to miss two to three months of payments before their mortgage company can modify their unaffordable loan terms.
FTC Says Watch Out Over Minority Refis
By Kenneth R. Harney | Washington Post Columnist | January 7, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkWith mortgage rates at historic lows – 4.75 percent from several lenders in mid-December – a new legal settlement from the Federal Trade Commission offers a cautionary note for consumers, especially if they are minorities: Watch out. The rates and fees you’re quoted could violate federal law.
We Are All Madoff Investors As Illusion Of Wealth Disappears
By James Saft | Reuters Columnist | January 7, 2009 | Reprints | Unlock LinkIt was perhaps inevitable that we ended 2008, the year we learned we were up the creek, with a great financial scandal: the Madoff Ponzi case.
