A growing assembly of respected academics, economists and advocates is calling for the end of US banks deemed ‘too big to fail’ and have Bank of America squarely in their sights as public enemy number one.

The group is currently undergoing creation of a petition which will be ultimately handed to key regulators and the Federal Reserve Board this week, damning the untouchable status of Bank of America and demanding it be dissolved into small, more manageable pieces.

Collectively known as the Stability Oversight Council, the regulators and FRB do indeed have the power to authorize such action, should they deem it appropriate.

While it remains unclear as to how effective the petition will be, assuming it has any effect at all, it is nonetheless a robust criticism of the Fed and the regulators, who thus far have taken little to no action toward decreasing the size and power of banks the likes of BOA, following the recent financial crisis.

According to the petition, Bank of America poses a “grave threat” to financial stability across the US which simply cannot be denied or ignored. It argues that the bank is far too extensive, too powerful and is forever treading on dangerous ground that could have catastrophic effects on the nation at any given time.

Neither the FRB nor Bank of America have so far offered comment or reply to any questions regarding the petition.

National average mortgage rates are experiencing a slow but steady backtrack from record lows, according to official weekly mortgage data.

According to leading housing market analysts, economic news has been mostly positive over the past couple of weeks and has resulted in renewed confidence in investors, who have been moving money away from safe haven bonds and back into more risky ventures. Such moves are known to spur gradual rises in interest rates and mortgage rates across the US.

There may also have been a number of technical factors contributing to the rise in this week’s rates, with fee increases imposed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to major lender perhaps showing signs of filtering through to borrowers.

With regard to specific mortgage rates of key interest, national home purchase mortgages for the week ending January 24th included the standard 30 year fixed rate loan at 4.08%, while the 5/1 ARM option began at 3.00%.

For the week prior ending January 17th, the national averages were at 4.02% for the 30 year fixed rate purchase mortgage, while the 5/1 ARM rested at a slightly lower 2.97%.

In related news, mortgage application volumes once again decreased in the course of last week by 5%, according to the official finding of the Mortgage Bankers Association. Refinances were down by a total of 5.2%, while purchases saw a slip of 5.4% in the week ending Friday.

The declines follows a recent surge of over 23%, as buyers flocked to make use of some of the lowest mortgage rates seen in recent history.

US citizens in no small numbers already have their own less than positive views about the IRS. Now, it appears that the world at large may soon be sharing their sentiments in no uncertain terms.

Congress has set the ball in motion regarding an act, which if put into practice will see banks in countries across the world lose billions of dollars. The Internal Revenue Service of the US has been instructed to put into place new rules and regulations, which will require financial businesses abroad to identify US citizens who currently hold accounts with them.

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FACTA as it has come to be known is to be officially brought into use during 2014, having been designed to follow on from successful moves to identify citizens hiding money and accounts in foreign countries.

On the surface the act appears to be just, at least by way of its goals, but critics argue that to successfully implement it would be too expense, too much of a global burden and entirely impractical to enforce.

The act dictates that every “foreign financial institution” – which is of course a rather vague designation to say the very least – must comply with the IRS so as to inform that of any American account holders with savings in excess of $50,000. Those who fail to do so will be penalized with a 30% tax rate on all profits from US investments.

Those in favor of the bill have pointed out that FACTA could yield total savings of up to $8 billion in the course of the next decade, though critics have been quick to reiterate that this is far from impressive – considering the IRS collected $1.9 trillion in 2010 alone.

While the world awaits even the slightest peep as to whether or not the fabled Samsung Galaxy S3 is to arrive shortly or even exists at all, the good news is certain analysts are telling the world to expect the arrival of the S2 HD even sooner.

According to certain online sources, a number of retailers have the new device in their hands and are ready and waiting to official add them to their listings.

The S2 HD is of course the bigger brother of the world-dominating Samsung Galaxy 2, which arrived early last year and smashed practically every record in the Android book. The HD version boasts (unsurprisingly) a 720p HD screen which is slightly larger in size, along with a boosted battery to power its additional display prowess.
As of now, the handset is available exclusively in South Korea, with no official release announcements having been made for other countries.

Based on worldwide sales and of course the inescapable hype, the Samsung Galaxy S2 is by far the most successful Smartphone even produced by the company. As such, it can pretty much be taken as gospel that the Korean giant will have every intention of taking 2012 by storm with another massive success story in the S3, which will be pitted head to head with the likes of the iPhone 5 and a world of other Android 4.0 ICS heavy-hitters.

For those who really cannot wait, he world may be granted its first look at the S3 and the S2 HD next month when the Mobile World Conference takes place next month.

The iPhone 5 rumor-mill is once again alive and kicking, following a rather unexpected dry run in light of the overwhelming success of the so-called “stopgap” solution that was the iPhone 4S.

Taking in up to 30 million sales in the final quarter of 2011 alone, the dual-core 4S marks the biggest success story of Apple to date, breaking record in the US and Europe left, right and center.

However, 2012 has now rolled around and the biggest story in the technology community, albeit a speculative one, is that of the bigger brother of the 4S and when exactly we can expect to see it.

Well, depending on which source the educated guesswork is coming from, the iPhone 5 release date will come about at some point between June and October – most likely one or the other to follow on from previous releases with September having been penciled in as prime iPod Touch territory.

Design-wise it could indeed be all change, as industry experts are now suggesting that contrary to previous expectations and suggestions, the iPhone 5 will move entirely away from the form of the 4S, marking a shift toward a new and currently unknown design of stunning beauty.

Needless to say of course the very thought of the iPhone 5 has been enough to sell it hook, line and sinker to the frothing masses, with analysts now predicting that almost 95% of all current iPhone users will be fighting tooth and nail to upgrade to the iPhone 5.

Indeed, should the iPhone 5 mark a whole new direction for the iPhone it will of course render each and every prior model yesterday’s new…and we all know how well that goes down with fanatic.

Cue the longest lines and order backlogs ever seen in human history…

This year’s unofficial iPad season is officially in full unofficial swing, with industry bigwigs and casual observers alike having earmarked Q1 as the ideal and indeed likely time for Apple to introduce the long-awaited iPad 3.

Indeed, if last year’s release is anything to go by, the US may finally get its hands on the fabled device as soon as early March.
Those who simply cannot wait that long may take comfort in further rumors suggesting that an Apple even will take place in the next few weeks to officially confirm the existence of the iPad 3 and stoke the fires of the adoring public a little further.
Packing a quad-core processor or maybe even the truly epic (if theoretical) A6 chip along with LTE technology and the very first tablet-sized Retina display, patience appears as though it will be rewarded richly indeed.
However, patience and good graces aside it really does appear possible this time that Apple will choose March as the ideal timeframe for the iPad 3 release, as a number of next-generation Android tablet rivals are ready and waiting to take their own share of the market anytime soon – some with faster quad-core processors, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and tantalizingly lower prices.
Indeed, the ASUS MeMo is already turning a good number of heads with its quad-core chip and ICS goodness for only $250-ish, which appears to be the first attempt at replicating the strategy of the Kindle Fire from Amazon, only with an extra wallop in the CPU and OS departments.

Pushing aside a veritable arsenal of equally abundant hits and misses from the rumor mill, the Samsung Galaxy S3 is back in the unofficial headlines this week, which is set to take pride of place at the top of the Android ladder, taking the torch from the global smash-hit Galaxy S2.

Following on from the release of the S2 last year, rumor has it that the S3 is set to hit the shelves in the second quarter of this year, or more specifically in April. Even more tantalizingly, the S3 may be about to have its first official unveiling to the world, when the Mobile World Congress takes place next month.

Of course, if the S3 follows the same release roadmap as the S2 with South Korea proudly welcoming the new device before the US, chances are one or two will find their way over the pond long before the US version is made official.

Spec-wise, the S3 is of course rumored to be shipping with Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich right out of the box, while a new HD screen will deliver an even more incredible impact than the Super AMOLED Plus we have all come to know and love.

Samsung may also be adding perhaps the finest 12 megapixel camera ever seen on any Smartphone from any manufacturer, with next-generation processing power and market-leading battery life.

Of course, the very moment the S3 hits the shelves the only question in the technology industry will be whether or not it is able to hold its own against the likes of the fabled iPhone 5…though sadly we’ll have to wait until at least the fall to answer that one.

With a bumped up pixel count, improved battery life and perhaps even an unexpected thicker overall case design, the upcoming iPad 3 could represent a significant step forward for Apple upon its release later this year…or perhaps a step in the wrong direction for those who favor tablet thinness above and beyond all else.

So, the question at this stage is who exactly would be happy to sacrifice their beloved device slenderness in favor of boosted specs and perhaps even 4G LTE connectivity?

Well, some would argue that the thickness of a device really doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but let’s not forget that the battle for Smartphone superiority in 2011 did in fact take into account thickness as an official category. Samsung and Apple in particular are known to have had long running debates on the thickness of their devices and its importance.

The Samsung Galaxy S2 and iPhone 4 were if you remember embroiled in a pitched battle for the crown of slenderness, with the iPhone eventually taking the title for its consistent 9.3mm end to end.

Samsung and Apple also went head to head in the tablet PC thickness wars, with the 8.8mm iPad 2 sending Samsung back to the drawing boards, from which they produced the 8.6mm Galaxy Tab 10.1 and took the title home with them.

So, how importance is thickness and which way will Apple go with the iPad 3?

Well, the jury is well and truly out but with talk of the first Retina display to feature in a tablet, massive battery life and LTE technology, all the required components are likely to take up a little extra room to say the least, therefore a beefed-up iPad 3 is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility.

As it stands, the actual details and specifics of the mortgage fraud settlement reached by the five biggest lenders in the US today have never appeared more certain. However, it appears equally as certain that the agreement will not be put in motion anytime soon, therefore with no specific resolution to speak of, president Barack Obama instead made an alternative yesterday.

“Tonight, I’m asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorney general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.” said Obama as part of his State of the Union address.

So to summarize the state of the fraud settlement fiasco, there was supposed to be a full and ‘fair’ settlement in place long before now and it appears as though a deal has indeed been ironed out.

However, Obama’s speech has made it clear that yet another extensive and potentially expensive investigation is to take place, in order to hold Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase and others accountable for their actions.

Should the settlement come to pass, the $25 billion headline figure may seem large on the surface, but less than half of the foreclosure victims affected are set to benefit – with those who do earmarked for a paltry $1,800 or so each.

Of course, a settlement of any description now seems entirely improbable at any point in the near future, at least until the next investigation has run its course…however long it may take.

As a key note in yesterday’s State of the Union address, Barack Obama made the call for wealthy Americans to begin paying a minimum of 30% in tax, which is more than double the amount paid in 2010 by Republican Mitt Romney on his $22 million total income.

In a speech which was of course utilized mainly to offer a first insight into the president’s reelection campaign as a whole, Obama put forth what he referred to as a “blueprint for an economy that’s built to last” which included a range of enhanced measures against unethical trading practices from nations including China.

Improvements to the nation’s roads were also earmarked, as was the expansion of US gas and oil production, research into renewable energy, increased grants for working college students, small business tax relief, a minimum rate of tax for businesses conducting overseas manufacturing and extensive fees for major banks to allow more mortgage payers to refinance at the current rock-bottom rates.

“We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by,’’ stated Obama during his address.  “Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.”

He also went on to announce the creation of what he called create “a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis” which concerns a number of the biggest lenders in the US today, including Bank of America.