by Calculated Risk on 1/06/2013 09:18:00 PM

From the NY Times: Deal in Foreclosure Case Is Imminent, Officials Say

A $10 billion settlement to resolve claims of foreclosure abuses by 14 major lenders is expected to be announced as early as Monday, several people with knowledge of the discussions said on Sunday.

The settlement comes after weeks of negotiations between federal regulators and the banks, and covers abuses like flawed paperwork and botched loan modifications ...

An estimated $3.75 billion of the $10 billion is to be distributed in cash relief to Americans who went through foreclosure in 2009 and 2010, these people said. An additional $6 billion is to be directed toward homeowners in danger of losing their homes after falling behind on their monthly payments.

This agreement ends the foreclosure review process that was apparently not effective. This is an addition to the settlement last year.

Monday economic release:
• Reis Q4 2012 Office survey of rents and vacancy rates. In Q3 Reis reported the office vacancy rate declined to 17.1%, from 17.2% in Q2. The vacancy rate peaked in this cycle at 17.6% in Q3 and Q4 2010.

Weekend:
• Summary for Week Ending Jan 4th
• Schedule for Week of Jan 6th
• Question #9 for 2013: How much will Residential Investment increase?
• Question #10 for 2013: Europe and the Euro

The Asian markets are mixed tonight; the Shanghai Composite index is up slightly, and the Nikkei is down 0.4%.

From CNBC: Pre-Market Data and Bloomberg futures: the S&P futures are down 2 and DOW futures are down 20.

Oil prices have moved up a recently with WTI futures at $92.97 per barrel and Brent at $111.32 per barrel. Gasoline prices have also increased a little recently.