Recent News and Articles on the Keywords: 0.20 + web + 355,000  Related to the article below (Last Update: 8/4/2008)

Earthtimes (press release) APAC Customer Services Announces Second Quarter 2008 Results MarketWatch - The conference call, including the visual presentation, will be available live in the Investor Relations section of APAC Customer Services' web site at ... athenahealth, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2008 Results WELT ONLINE Shutterfly Announces Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results TMC Net all 859 news articles »  SFLY - APAC - ATHN Altra Holdings Announces Record Financial Results for the Second ... MarketWatch - Also, the company has posted slides on its web site at http://www.altramotion.com in the Investor Relations Section in the Events & Presentations tab to ...AIMC FLEXNEWS McAfee, Inc. Reports 26 Percent Growth on Record Revenue of $397 ... MarketWatch - Jul 31, 2008 McAfee Secure Search Service, delivering one of the safest online search experiences for consumers, and McAfee SECURE(TM) for Web Sites, ... Watts Water Technologies Reports Second Quarter 2008 Results WELT ONLINE The Hanover Insurance Group Reports Strong Second Quarter Results Earthtimes (press release) Stratasys Reports Record Second Quarter Financial Results Trading Markets (press release) CNNMoney.com (press release) - NewsBlaze all 1,243 news articles »  THG - WTS - TSON 3 Italia adds to mobile internet offers Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands - Aug 1, 2008 Dati Plus tariff provides for 1 GB of daily traffic, with each additional MB charged EUR 0.20. The Tre.Dati plan offers 5 GB of traffic a month for a ... Power-One Announces Second Quarter 2008 Results MarketWatch - Jul 24, 2008 The call will be available over the Internet through the Company's investor relations Web site at www.power-one.com. To listen to the call, please go to the ...PWER Earthtimes (press release) Community Financial Shares, Inc. Announces Second Quarter 2008 ... MarketWatch - Jul 31, 2008 For further information about the Company and the Bank visit them on the world-wide-web at www.commbank-wge.com. In addition, information on the Company's ... Portec Rail Products, Inc. Reports 2008 Second Quarter and Six ... Earthtimes (press release) State Bancorp, Inc. Reports Second Quarter Earnings and Declares ... CNNMoney.com (press release) Greene County Bancorp, Inc. Announces Earnings Increase MarketWatch MarketWatch all 1,045 news articles »  PRPX - GCBC - BANR Actel Announces Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results CNNMoney.com - Jul 29, 2008 A live web cast and replay of the call will be available. Web cast and replay access information as well as financial and other statistical information can ...ACTL CardBoardFish launches SMS app Telecom Paper (subscription), Netherlands - Jul 23, 2008 After registering, every user gets GBP 0.20 (or EUR 0.30) worth of free credit and as an introductory offer until 1 August, FishText users topping up with ... FMC Corporation Announces Second Quarter 2008 Results MarketWatch - Jul 29, 2008 This event will be available live and as a replay on the web at http://www.fmc.com. Prior to the conference call, the Company will also provide supplemental ...FMC Iron Mountain Reports Second Quarter 2008 Financial Results IT News Online, India - Jul 31, 2008 In order to further enhance the overall quality of its investor communications, the Company will simulcast the conference call on its Web site at ...IRM

Are 2 packages of settlement services better than one?

In earlier columns, I looked at HUD's approach to fixing several abuses that pervade the home loan market. One of HUD's major proposals is to authorize lenders and others to consolidate all settlement services into a Guaranteed Mortgage Package (GMP) on which the interest rate, plus a single dollar price covering all settlement costs, are guaranteed. This would be a substantial break with the ways in which mortgages are delivered today, and how it will work out exactly is not clear.

Lenders expect to profit from having the complete freedom to package the services of their own affiliates, without having to warn borrowers about the relationship or offer them alternatives. Lenders without affiliates would be free to use their buying clout to negotiate the most favorable terms with independent third-party service providers. HUD is gambling that competition between GMP packagers will force them to pass on most of the cost savings to borrowers. 

The way to make this less of a gamble, closer to a sure thing, is to expand the number of players, and there is a very simple way to do this. Instead of requiring one package that includes everything, HUD could allow two packages, which could be offered separately or together. 

One package, offered only by lenders, would consist of lender-related services. These are services provided directly by the lender, or by third parties, such as independent appraisers, at prices known by the lender. This package would have the same rate guarantee as the GMP, but the price guarantee would cover only lender-related services.

The second package, offered by title insurance, real estate or other non-lender firms, would consist of all real estate-related services. These are all the services needed in settlement of the real estate transaction. The price of real estate-related services would also be guaranteed. Both groups of packagers would have the same type of exemptions (from restrictions on referral fees, for example) as GMP packagers. 

This breakdown corresponds to a natural division of labor between lenders and real estate service providers. Lenders by themselves can't guarantee the prices of real estate services because they are not themselves involved in that process. Lenders offering GMPs, therefore, will subcontract with firms involved in real estate to provide real estate service packages for inclusion in GMPs. There is no good reason why these firms should not be able to offer the same packages to borrowers, directly or through mortgage brokers.

The two-package approach would materially increase the number of competitive options available to borrowers. Many lenders reluctant to offer GMPs will be willing to offer lender packages because, except for the guarantee, it is what they do now. A few forward-looking lenders already guarantee their settlement service package. Real estate firms that are disinclined to become subcontractors to lenders offering GMPs may take advantage of the opportunity to develop their own distribution networks.

Under the two-package approach, borrowers could buy a complete GMP, or they could buy separate lender and real estate packages. It would be a simple matter to compare the price of a GMP package to the sum of the prices on a lender package and a real estate package.

Indeed, mortgage brokers would do the arithmetic for them. Putting the two packages together is a natural mortgage broker function. It is similar to what they often do now in combining a first and second mortgage in one deal. The lender package should include a slot for the broker's fee, which would be negotiated with the borrower and fully disclosed.

NOTE: In the summer I placed a spreadsheet on my Web site that borrowers with fixed-rate mortgages could use to check whether their lenders were giving them proper credit for extra payments. Following numerous requests, I recently added similar spreadsheets for fixed-rate bi-monthly, and adjustable rate mortgages.