Homeowners who have fallen on financial hard times have made other sacrifices and lifestyle changes: About a third have downsized to a smaller home or delayed expanding their family as planned.
And, a quarter of homeowners who want to sell their current home and buy another say they need to make the move in order to lower their monthly expenses due to financial problems.
The survey, conducted for Move Inc., found wide-ranging concerns about the financial condition of homeowners in a challenging economy, but also unearthed evidence of increased demand among investors in residential real estate.
“Concerns around employment and their overall economic - - - - >

In response, lawmakers and government agencies have been trying to lay down stricter rules for asset-backed securities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission will weigh in Wednesday by proposing Wall Street firms that package and sell asset-backed securities be required to provide fuller disclosures on them.
The disclosures would include information on every underlying loan in a package. For example: What type of mortgage loan was involved? Were complete documents required from the borrower? Or was it a “no-doc” or “liar loan”?
The idea is to give investors more information to better judge the securities risk. That would reduce reliance on the Wall Street - - - - >

A report released Thursday by SEC inspector general David Kotz examines the bounty program in the wake of the SECs colossal breakdown that allowed Bernard Madoffs multibillion-dollar fraud to go undetected for 16 years - despite abundant red flags raised by whistleblowers.
The review by Kotzs office found there have been very few payments made under the program, which is limited to insider trading cases. Only a total $159,537 has been paid to five people since the program began in 1989.
Few applications for bounties have come in over the same 20-year period for a little-known program, the report said.
The report also - - - - >

On Wednesday, nearly 50 international donors pledged $9.9 billion to help Haiti recover from the Jan. 12 earthquake that destroyed the government and commercial center of Haitis capital, Port-au-Prince.
But U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes said the best sign that recovery was under way in Haiti would be an uptick in private investment.
“There need to be real investments that are really sustainable,” Holmes told The Associated Press. “Given half a chance this country can recover.”
Government-estimated death tolls from the quake - which rose without explanation ahead of the conference - range from 217,000 to 300,000 people. Most of the estimated 1.3 - - - - >

Moroccos official MAP news agency said that Ahmed bin Zayed Al Nahyans glider went down in the lake Friday. The pilot of the aircraft was rescued in good condition, but authorities continued the search for Al Nahyan.
Al Nahyan is the managing director of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. He is also the younger brother of Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the leader of the United Arab Emirates.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority could not be immediately reached for comment.
The glider went down near the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah Dam, which forms the lake. It - - - - >

Paris leads most EU governments in favoring greater restrictions for alternative investment funds based outside the 27-nation bloc. A lack of transparency and speculative trading have been blamed for contributing to the financial crisis, including Greeces debt troubles.
The new law, when completed, could block foreign funds from Europe if they dont face tight oversight at home. This is aimed at funds based in tax havens like the Cayman Islands where supervisors might not be checking on risks they are taking on.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner wrote to EU officials last week, warning them that the draft rules could also block - - - - >

The document, called an “annual review,” provides a rare window into the publicity-shy funds operations and investment strategy. A revamped Web site launching Monday aims to further humanize ADIA by including video soundbites from key players and photos offering a glimpse inside the funds iconic glass tower, the tallest in the Emirati capital.
The increased openness could help address Western policy makers concerns about the Abu Dhabi funds motives at a time when the neighboring emirate Dubai is under fire for a perceived lack of financial transparency amid the handling of its debt crisis.
ADIA has repeatedly said its investments, including a - - - - >

MetLife won an accord to split most declines on $1 billion in commercial mortgages included in the $15.5 billion purchase of the AIG unit, according to a MetLife regulatory filing and the companys chief financial officer. A corporate vehicle owned by the Fed and New York-based AIG will use MetLife stock gained in the sale to pay for future real estate losses, said two people with knowledge of the arrangement.
AIGs Japan mortgage holdings were deemed a “more troubled asset” by MetLife, which is also indemnified from - - - - >

The purchase of Citi Property Investors will give New York- based Apollo 65 real estate investments in 26 countries with a net asset value of $3.5 billion, said the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apollos global head of real estate, Joseph Azrack, helped assemble the portfolio when he led the Citigroup unit from 2004 to 2008.
The sale to Apollo shows the units limited partners have confidence in the buyer and a recovery in global prices, said Matthew Anderson, partner - - - - >

The purchase of Citi Property Investors will give New York- based Apollo 65 real estate investments in 26 countries with a net asset value of $3.5 billion, said the person, who asked not to be named because the negotiations are private. Apollos global head of real estate, Joseph Azrack, helped assemble the portfolio when he led the Citigroup unit from 2004 to 2008.
The sale to Apollo shows the units limited partners have confidence in the buyer and a recovery in global prices, said Matthew Anderson, partner - - - - >