Lawyers accountable on foreclosures

Lawyers accountable on foreclosures

NEW YORK

The chief judge of New York’s courts on Wednesday imposed a new rule requiring lawyers handling foreclosures to verify that all paperwork is accurate.

The move comes amid an uproar over accusations that mortgage lenders nationwide cut corners on paperwork and legal procedure as they moved to seize millions of homes. It follows a slew of other state efforts to respond to the foreclosure-paperwork debacle.

Attorneys general in all 50 states and the District of Columbia are jointly investigating whether mortgage companies have violated state laws.

Wyo. oil spill hints at wells’ potential

CHEYENNE, Wyo.

Word is out that a well in southeast Wyoming has tapped oil from the Niobrara Shale — not from a company news release or government records, but from 15 acres of ranch land blackened by an oil spill. The accident shows the ground holds quantities of oil under pressure, said Mark Northam, director of the School of Energy Resources at the University of Wyoming.

EBay 3rd-quarter profit rises 23%

SAN FRANCISCO

EBay Inc. on Wednesday said its third-quarter profit climbed 23 percent, helped by its growing PayPal business.

The online marketplace operator also predicted results for the current quarter that were better than analysts had been expecting, sending its shares up more than 7 percent in after-hours trading.

EBay earned $432 million, or 33 cents per share, in the July-September period, compared with a profit of $350 million, or 27 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.

Court to Google: Tell NY’er who posted

NEW YORK

A business consultant who wants to know who’s been anonymously disparaging and fixating on her online has gotten a court to force Google to tell her.

As she joined a growing number of people who have persuaded courts to unmask troublesome cyber ciphers, Carla Franklin said Wednesday she hoped her case would help others combat similar problems.

A Manhattan court ruling issued Tuesday gives the company a couple of weeks to provide Franklin with identity and contact information for the person or people who posted denigrating comments and unauthorized videos of her, beginning last year.

Oil prices rebound

Oil bounced back Wednesday as a weaker dollar, strong corporate earnings and rising stock prices brought buyers back, a day after China’s surprise interest rate hike caused a sharp drop in prices.

Benchmark crude for November delivery rose $2.28 to settle at $81.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That contract expired Wednesday and trading moved to the December contract, where oil climbed by $1.38 to settle at $82.54 a barrel.

Retail gasoline prices continued to climb, with the national average at $2.831 for a gallon of regular, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. It’s up 10.5 cents from a month ago.

Associated Press