They come to believe they're entitledSource: ReviewJournal.com - News
Sen. Dodd got two Countrywide mortgages in 2003, refinancing his home in Connecticut and another residence in Washington.
A Cautious Thumbs-Up for TALFSource: globeSt.com
As the July issue of industry publication US Banker noted, more than $168 billion of the $204 billion in commercial mortgages coming due this year are held by banks and thrifts. That dwarfs the $19.1 billion of CMBS loans that also mature this year.
How tax havens helped to create a crisisSource: FT.com
Banks employ large teams of highly paid people to devise transactions mainly for the purpose of avoiding tax. These activities seem to be far more profitable than the humdrum business of managing payments and channelling savings towards investment. Why?
Thain Fires Back at Bank of America - WSJ.comSource: Wall Street Journal
John Thain figured seven months ago that he was just one rung down the corporate ladder from becoming chief executive of the largest consumer bank in the U.S. Now, he is trying to climb back from the professional disaster that followed.
David Brooks -Yanks in Crisis - NYTimes.comSource: The New York Times
"The Great Depression altered the national consciousness. So far, the Great Recession has not."
But being manhandled by banks and credit card issuers might.
We do not use banks out of choice, we need them. We carry credit cards because we cannot function without them.
Multi-Agency Crackdown on Foreclosure Rescue ScamsSource: Spero News
Madigan said the surest way to identify a potential scam artist is if the company asks for a fee up front after making big promises about being able to get a homeowner out of trouble.

Just for the record, I did study accounting, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I'm no accountant, by any means, but if you explain it to me slowly, I can usually "get it".
Prophet and LossSource: Stanford Magazine
Brooksley Born warned that unchecked trading in the credit market could lead to disaster, but power brokers in Washington ignored her. Now we're all paying the price.
David Brooks on Greed and Stupidity Source: The New York Times
There are many theories about what happened, but two general narratives seem to be gaining prominence, which we will call the greed narrative and the stupidity narrative. The two overlap, but they lead to different ways of thinking about where we go from here.
Big Bank NightmaresSource: Firedoglake
The CEOs and others at major financial institutions who aren't completely clueless are having trouble sleeping at night. They keep having a recurring nightmare, in which a certain advertisement keeps playing . . .