The Treasury Department has admitted that the Making Home Affordable (HAMP) foreclosure prevention program has not made the type of impact that was expected.  In response the Treasury Department is instituting new rules that will take effect on June 1, 2010.

The new HAMP requirements will force servicers to have in hand all the needed documents from borrowers before they extend a three-month trial …

Tags: foreclosure HAMP Lenders Mortgage United States Department of the Treasury

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… to about 1.6 million of the nation’s 15.4 million unemployed as of November, according to the Labor Department. These unemployed job seekers say it is even harder for them to find work because of what they see as age bias.

Age bias in the job market is apparent for many older workers; but what may not be readily apparent is how that bias may negatively impact their finances and even force them into bankruptcy.  The longer an individual remains unemployed, the more precarious their …

Tags: Bankruptcy Labor Department Seniors Unemployment

The latest job loss report released by the Labor Department is not encouraging.  There were 85,000 job losses in December and that’s after employers added 4,000 jobs in November.  It just seems that America’s workers can’t seem to get a break.  Even those who have been looking for work for an extended period of time remain unemployed.  There are 5.4 million Americans receiving unemployment benefits and that’s not counting the …

Tags: Bankruptcy Department of Labor Job Loss Unemployment

The Labor Department claims that the number jobless workers applying for unemployment for the first time is steadily decreasing; but could that mean a spike in bankruptcy filings?

Initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That was above analysts’ expectations of 460,000 new claims… The number of people …

Tags: Bankruptcy Labor Department Recession Unemployment United States

According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, the Labor Department announced that new claims for unemployment insurance benefits dropped last week to a seasonally adjusted 521,000.

The article said:

“Despite the improvement, initial claims remain well above the 325,000 that economists say is consistent with a healthy economy.”

Also, there are still 8.9 million Americans continuing to receive unemployment benefits, including those who …

Tags: Unemployment United States Department of Labor

… litigation.  Although this company denies the allegations brought by the workers in this case, labor violations are becoming more common as workers face more job losses during this recession. Reports of “unofficial” overtime have increased as more workers who are on the brink of bankruptcy themselves, endure long hours for no extra pay in an effort to keep their jobs. And as we have reported over the past year, many companies have given their employees official pay cuts that have left …

Tags: Building Materials Holding Corp Labor Dispute SelectBuild Construction Inc. Settlement

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… at a 6.6 percent annual rate, the most since the third quarter of 2003, revised figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. Labor costs fell by the most in nine years.”

The bottom-line is that companies are now getting more for their labor costs, but at what price to the worker?  Many Americans have succumb to foreclosure due to job losses and many who have not faced a job loss (yet) are finding that their take-home pay is reduced as a part of some companies’ …

Tags: Dallas Morning News Employment Labor Department Productivity Unemployment

… financial crises including foreclosures and bankruptcy. But is it just temporary or are department stores and malls looking towards a permanent change in their future? According to an article in the Dallas Morning News, 55 percent of those surveyed said they are shopping less at malls, where prices are often much higher than online or standalone shops.

The article highlights department stores’ dismal sales:

As a group, department stores posted nine consecutive monthly …

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The Labor Department said Thursday that the number of new jobless claims rose to 480,000 last week when many economists were hoping for a decline and a sign that the job losses would be improving soon.

But the rise in weekly claims of 7,000 last week, which had followed an increase of 19,000 the previous week, shows that the improvement has been halting. Analysts believe that claims need to fall …

… of their plan to exit bankruptcy next week.  However, the plan faces the challenges from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

In its objection the government stated “there is no authority to excuse noncompliance by the Debtor and the reorganized debtor with applicable federal law and regulations or to excuse, release, or bar appropriate actions by those agencies under federal law and regulations.”

Part of the proposed addition states that nothing in the plan shall prevent the …

… to cut costs, the company is implementing job losses and outsourcing its information technology department.  New jobs will go India.  Is this a trend?  As job losses mount and the recession clamps down on consumer spending, many large companies (and some small companies) are turning to foreign workers to find cheap labor, leaving many American workers unemployed for a longer stretch of time.

Since January, Neiman Marcus has had three layoffs totaling 950 jobs, and employees have …

… rate has surpassed 10 percent for the first time since 1983.

The article said:

“The Labor Department said Friday that jobless rate rose to 10.2 percent, the highest since April 1983, from 9.8 percent in September. The economy shed a net total of 190,000 jobs in October, less than the downwardly revised 219,000 lost in September, but more than economists expected.”

Despite many economists’ claims that the recession is ending, nearly 16 million Americans are unemployed …