HOUSING
Watchdog finalizes foreclosure rule
The U.S. consumer watchdog on Monday said it was finalizing a rule that would restrict mortgage servicers from foreclosing on borrowers behind on their mortgage payments, throwing a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of homeowners struggling due to the covid-19 pandemic.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in April proposed, among other measures, a new review process that would generally prohibit mortgage servicers from starting a foreclosure until after Dec. 31. It aims to help around 900,000 homeowners due to exit covid-19 mortgage holiday or “forbearance” programs in coming months.
“As the nation shifts from the covid-19 emergency to the economic recovery, we cannot be complacent about the dangers we still face,” said CFPB Acting Director Dave Uejio.
“An unchecked wave of foreclosures would drain billions of dollars in wealth from the Black and Hispanic communities hardest hit by the pandemic,” he added.
The new rule covers loans on principal residences and is effective from Aug. 31.
— Reuters
LABOR
Ray Curry elected as UAW’s leader
United Auto Workers secretary-treasurer Ray Curry has been elected president of the union.
Curry, 55, was picked by the union’s International Executive Board on Monday. He will replace Rory Gamble, who retires on Wednesday.
Gamble led the 397,000-member union through a bribery and embezzlement scandal and the coronavirus pandemic, in which the union agreed to keep auto factories running with numerous safety precautions. He was the union’s first Black president, and Curry will be the second.
Curry joined the UAW in 1992 as an assembler at Freightliner Trucks in Mount Holly, N.C., and worked his way up to regional director in the South.
Curry likely will have to face election within the coming year. Under an agreement to avoid a federal takeover, the union agreed to hold an election for members to decide whether they will vote directly for their leaders. That election has to take place by Nov. 12. If members approve direct voting, then members will vote by June 2022.
— Associated Press
AUTO INDUSTRY
Honda to build electric SUV at GM plant
Honda will sell an electric SUV built in a North American General Motors plant beginning in early 2024, the company said. Named the Prologue, the new SUV will use the Ultium battery and motor technology GM developed for use in EVs like the Detroit-built GMC Hummer electric pickup going on sale this fall.
Honda would not discuss details of the Prologue’s size, features or price, but the battery-powered EV is expected to sell in numbers between the brand’s Passport five-seat midsize SUV and Pilot family-hauling three-row model, Honda executive vice president Dave Gardner said. Honda sold 21,941 Passports and 61,846 Pilots through May.
Honda will provide the 2024 Prologue’s exterior and interior design along with brand “characteristics” customers will recognize, Gardner said.
— Tribune Content Agency
Also in Business
Cruise operator Carnival on Monday reported a loss of $2.07 billion in its fiscal second quarter. The Miami-based company said it had a loss of $1.83 per share. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of $1.68 per share. The cruise operator posted revenue of $50 million in the period, which also did not meet Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $128.9 million.
Baker Hughes is taking a 15 percent stake in a start-up that aims to produce natural gas from hydrogen and carbon dioxide, the oil field service company’s latest move to invest technology designed to capture emissions. Houston-based Baker Hughes is investing in Electrochaea GmbH, a German company developing a process to make so-called synthetic natural gas from carbon dioxide and from hydrogen produced using renewable energy, according to a statement. Financial terms were not disclosed.
— From news reports
