Trump’s empire: a maze of debts and opaque ties

On the campaign trail, Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, has sold himself as a businessman who has made billions of dollars and is beholden to no one. But an investigation into the financial maze of Trump's real estate holdings in the United States reveals that companies he owns have at least $650 million in debt - twice the amount than can be gleaned from public filings he has made as part of his bid for the White House.

People Movers of the Week: Aug. 19

Colony American Finance has named Grace Soueidan as senior vice president of single asset lending, Tuan Pham as senior vice president of marketing and Fred Mahintorabi as vice president of finance. OS National , a provider of residential and commercial title and escrow services, said that Michelle Esparza has been named national sales executive.

Kenneth Harney: New homeowner ‘marriage penalty’ in tax code?

Does the federal tax code now favor unmarried partners when it comes to deducting mortgage interest on jointly owned houses with super-sized mortgages? Can certain co-owners save big money on taxes by staying single, rather than getting married? In the wake of a little-publicized move by the IRS earlier this month, the answer appears to be yes for potentially significant numbers of co-owners of houses with jumbo loans.

Donald Trump announces economic advisory team

Donald Trump has announced his team of economic advisers, a group that includes many of the people already helping his campaign. It includes John Paulson, a hedge fund billionaire who made his fortune betting against subprime mortgages as the American economy headed toward collapse in 2007; Tom Barrack, a real estate investor and close friend of Trump who has been raising money for a super PAC supporting the billionaire candidate, and Steven Mnuchin, a New York investor who is Trump's national finance chairman.

Prosecutors ask appeals panel to rehear BofA case

New York a A federal appeals panel should reconsider its reversal of a fraud verdict against Bank of America Corp. and $1.2 billion penalty resulting from the bank's actions during the 2008 financial crisis, prosecutors say. Prosecutors filed papers with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan late Thursday, saying that a three-judge appeals panel overlooked "a wealth of evidence" that the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank sold thousands of toxic mortgage loans while misrepresenting them as investment quality.

UPDATE 1-Citigroup beats $800 mln appeal by one-time billionaire

Aug 5 A federal appeals court rejected a one-time Florida billionaire's bid to revive his $800 million lawsuit accusing Citigroup Inc of fraudulently hiding its exposure to subprime and other toxic mortgages, inducing him to hold on to shares he otherwise would have sold. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan on Friday said Citigroup and former officials, including two chief executives Charles Prince and Vikram Pandit, were not liable to trusts and corporate entities overseen by Arthur Williams and his wife.

CFPB: Foreclosure Relief Shouldn’t End When HAMP Does

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau added its voice Tuesday to a chorus of other regulators in calling for sustainable foreclosure relief when the Home Affordable Modification Program expires at yearend. The bureau released "guiding principles" for mortgage servicers and investors that were almost identical to those described in a white paper last week from the Treasury Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

CFPB’s Impact, Five Years On

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking a victory lap this week as it celebrates its fifth anniversary, noting its accomplishments during the past five years, including collecting $11.7 billion in restitution for 27 million consumers. Yet the milestone also marks an important shift for the agency.

Fight Over Reform Bill Turns into Fight Over Capital Worldviews

Regulators' calculations were "were wrong when it came to subprime mortgages [and] they were wrong when they were talking about Greek debt," said Rep. Scott Garrett in support of banks hitting a non-risk-based leverage ratio. The debate over a Republican bill to overhaul the Dodd-Frank Act is increasingly focused on two widely different philosophies about capital regulation, which were both on display at a hearing Tuesday.

The Imaginarium of Harry Blackmun

The Supreme Court has added another chapter to the body of law rooted in very little more than the imagination of Justice Harry Blackmun, who, with the assistance of a few of his fellow legal fantasists, delivered the constitutional right to abortion, Athena-like, from his head into the waiting world.At issue were a number of regulations in the state of Texas governing abortion clinics and the meat-cutters employed therein. Texas, with its relatively light regulatory regime, is sometimes regarded in the coastal cosmopoles as something between late-Seventies Hong Kong and the fever dreams of Ayn Rand, but it isn't quite.

Gabi Grecko’s cryptic video after estranged husband Geoffrey…

Get out now! Furious EU leaders demand Britain makes quick exit from the EU as Prime Minister David Cameron resigns and global markets plummet over historic referendum vote to leave Europe PIERS MORGAN: No wonder Trump looks happy - Britain's exit from Europe should leave Hillary Clinton shaking in her boots and Donald knows it! Dow closes 610 points down wiping $800 MILLION off the value of US firms after tumultuous day of trading following shocking Brexit vote Rating agency CUTS British credit outlook to 'negative' as European finance ministers say Brexit will limit British banks' access to EU markets It wasn't me! Obama shrugs off his humiliating failure to stop Britain quitting Europe by claiming 'globalization' was to blame for shock result Donald Trump says 'always wrong Obama' and Clinton pushed the British out of Europe by lecturing them to stay - and Americans will be next 'to ... (more)

House Speaker Ryan proposes simpler tax code

House Republicans led by Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled a plan for a simpler tax code, the sixth and last installment of a GOP agenda designed to be a policy counterpoint to the personality-driven campaign of Donald Trump. Ryan and other Republicans announced the plan at a news conference Friday morning.

Justice Department Drops Fraud Case Against Countrywide’s Mozilo

In the aftermath of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, a lot of fingers were pointing at Mozilo as someone to blame. That's because he was the CEO of Countrywide: the nation's largest mortgage lender, which collapsed after making massive numbers of bad home loans that resulted in foreclosures and helped send the U.S. banking system into cardiac arrest.

Here’s how Clinton could hit Trump on his real estate record

After a report emerged last week that the Democratic National Committee's security had been breached by Russian government hackers, a document surfaced yesterday that many are saying is the Democratic Party's official opposition research on presidential candidate Donald Trump. Through more than 200 pages, the oppo book mostly consists of news clips and interviews with Trump over the last three decades.