What We're Hearing

The Daily Journal, a newspaper geared toward the legal community, is reporting that Countrywide Financial co-founder and former CEO Angelo Mozilo and possibly other (former) high-ranking executives at the company soon could face civil charges from the Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC's goal is to demonstrate how Mozilo and other executives misled shareholders about the risks Countrywide was taking on. (It was once the nation's largest subprime lender and servicer, according to the Quarterly Data Report.) CFC's shares once traded as high as $50. Eventually, the company sold out to Bank of America for just $7. If BoA had not stepped in, CFC, more than likely, would have been taken over by the government, wiping out shareholders entirely. The Daily Journal reported that a final decision on filing charges could take at least two months and lawyers for the executives could ask for one more meeting before a decision is made. The newspaper's source is "attorneys familiar with the case"…