Mortgage Industry News for the Week Ending Feb. 29, 2008 http://www.mortgagedaily.com/Podcasts/MortgageDailyPodcast022908.mp3

A New Jersey defense attorney has been named the central figure in a 14-count indictment with three others who are accused of racketeering, murder and $1.1 million in mortgage fraud. http://www.fraudblogger.com/PRNJATTYARRESTED052909.asp

Mortgage rates have held fairly steady since the middle of last week. http://www.bankrate.com/brm/story_content.asp?story_uid=28669&prodtype=mtg

Don't give out personal data to a middleman, and make sure a dealer isn't sneaking in unwanted fees. http://ep.bankrate.com/hlink_redirects/hlink_redirects.aspx?link_address=http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/car-advice/20090731-DFD-cash-clunkers-scams-a1.asp&ht=9&suid=28537&web=brm

Moody's Investors Service announced that it placed 948 tranches from second-lien residential mortgage-backed securities on review for a possible downgrade. The sharp decline in real estate prices has hurt loss rates during the past few years, the New York-based company explained. But an even bigger factor is that many second-lien borrowers were at 100 percent loan-to-value at origination, and the 30 percent decline in prices has left them well above 100 percent LTV. http://www.mortgagedaily.com/SecondLienPerformance031810.asp?spcode=rss