Second Record Year for Foreclosures

The figures for 2009 surpass the 3.2 million foreclosures recorded in 2008, according to a report from the group RealtyTrac Inc.

"Foreclosure filings exceeded 300,000 for the ninth straight month in November, RealtyTrac said today. A weak labor market and tight credit are 'formidable headwinds' for the economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said in a Dec. 7 speech in Washington. The 7.2 million jobs lost since the recession began in December 2007 are the most of any postwar economic slump, Labor Department data show. Unemployment, at 10 percent last month, won't peak until the first quarter, Quigley said."