‘Catastrophic’ Foreclosure Freeze Meets Wall Street Opposition

Calls for a total freeze on U.S. foreclosures ran into opposition from Wall Street and the White House amid predictions that clearing up faulty paperwork and resuming evictions may take as little as two weeks.

A complete halt would be “catastrophic” for the U.S. economy and hurt home sales, said a statement today from President Tim Ryan at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, Wall Street’s biggest lobby. A day earlier, David Axelrod, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama, also said a moratorium would damage the housing market.