Real Estate Investing

Jesse Jackson is taking it to the streets. This man seems to be involved in everything, right? Now he’s coordinating a march on Wall Street, which is itself reeling from the subprime fallout. A press release issued by co-organizer Rainbow PUSH Coalition quoted Jackson as saying:

“Two million homes nationwide will be at risk of foreclosure by 2008,” Rev. Jackson said. “We need restructure to avoid these foreclosures. Without it, the country is bound to go into recession.”

Jackson said the march, which will be in The Big Apple and in other cities simultaneously on Dec. 10, is to get the attention of the government and lenders. He is calling for a restructuring of subprime ARMs in anticipation of the impending reset of billions of dollars worth of mortgages early next year. Operating under the slogan, “Save our houses — choose restructuring over foreclosing,” Jackson’s event may seem a bit comical. It may have little effect on an issue that already has many wringing their hands, but at least the march comes at a good time. Congress is now debating a new bill that could restructure home loan terms for those in bankruptcy proceedings. The bill is also expected to bring about change in lending practices.

As for lenders, they seem too busy trying to stop their own bleeding to be of much assistance to anyone else. The following list compiled by the BBC lists some of the carnage seen recently by financial institutions as a result of subprime loans:

Citigroup: $11bn

Merrill Lynch: $8bn

Morgan Stanley: $3.7bn

Bear Stearns: $3.2bn

UBS: $3.4bn

Deutsche Bank: $3.2bn

Credit Suisse: $1bn

Wachovia: $1.1bn

IKB: $1bn:

Source: Company reports

Jesse Jackson hopes to draw more attention to the problem and be a voice for the poorest Americans, who he said will be hardest hit by foreclosures. Hmmm, does that include Michael Jackson?