For the 17th straight month foreclosures exceeded 300,000 as the number of homeowners who lost their homes rose in July, although the housing market is showing some improvement over the same time last year. 

Foreclosures were up 4 percent in July with 325,229 filings, a nearly 10 percent increase over the same month in 2009, according to a report Thursday from RealtyTrac, a group that tracks foreclosure filings. 

"Declines in new default notices, which were down on a year-over-year basis for the sixth straight month in July, have been offset by near-record levels of bank repossessions, which increased on a year-over-year basis for the eighth straight month,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, in a statement. 

A total of 97,123 properties received default notices in July, a 1 percent increase from the previous month but a 28 percent decrease from July 2009, according to the report. Default notices in July were down 32 percent from their peak of 142,064 in April 2009.

Misguided economic policies advocated by the Obama administration and congressional Democrats have increased taxes on companies and are taking a major toll on hiring decisions by business leaders, claims Small Business & Entrepreneurship (SBE) Council president and CEO Karen Kerrigan. 

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) has received Taxpayer Hero status from the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste for her effort to reduce government spending.  

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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) on Thursday announced an "open door" policy as it implements scores of new financial regulations.

The policy will include public webcasts of roundtable discussions as it designs new regulations. The FDIC will also release on a bi-weekly basis the names and affiliations of outside parties that meet with senior officials about rulemaking proceedings required under the Dodd-Frank Act.

The subject matter of the meetings will also be disclosed.

The Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) may use BP's oil and gas drilling revenue as collateral to ensure the $20 billion account is funded to pay for damages caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Essentially, the victims compensation fund would be guaranteed with drilling revenue, the White House outlined late Wednesday. 

Critics of the arrangement called the move inappropriate and a conflict of interest because it makes BP and the federal government partners in oil and gas production in the Gulf. Details on the plan are still under negotiation. 

BP has sold about $9 billion assets to have cash on hand to pay into the fund.

Wall Street bonuses and incentive compensation are expected to rise over last year, but still remain below 2007 highs, according to a new industry analysis.

Johnson Associates predicts a small increase this year in incentive compensation for financial services employees. Asset management and prime brokerage businesses might see up to 15 percent increases over 2009 levels.

The report also found investment and commercial banking pay has been hampered by market volatility and financial worries in Europe.

President George W. Bush is slated to speak at the Commercial Finance Association's (CFA) 66th Annual Convention that will run October 20 thru 22.  

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has called on Congress to do something about China manipulating its currency after it was reported on Wednesday that the U.S. trade deficit with the Asian country widened to more than $26 billion in June, the largest imbalance since October 2008. 

By a two-to-one margin, expectations of certified public accountants (CPAs) serving C-suite executives have turned sharply negative on the economy as high unemployment and the tight credit market persist, according to a new poll by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School.