For the first time in US history, a significant number of Americans are being threatened with the loss of their home
For the first time in the nation's history, a significant number of Americans are being threatened with the loss of their home even though they still have a steady, good-paying job.
It's not just an issue for people with poor credit, those with subprime loans. It also affects people with good enough credit to qualify for a prime loan. Known as Alt-A mortgages, these loans were written for 1 in 5 U.S. mortgages and could have a big impact on the economy and on credit markets -- bigger, perhaps, than the effects of the recent shockwaves buffeting the subprime-lender market, economists say.
http://www.marketwatch.com/new…%2D9D92%2DFB882963206C%7D
Seven Month Price Drop A Record
Some housing bubble reports from Wall Street and Washington. “The National Association of Realtors reported Friday that price of a median home sold last month dropped to $212,800, down by 1.3 percent from the same month in 2006. It marked a record seven straight months that the median home prime has fallen compared to the same period a year ago.”
“Total existing home sales are 3.6 percent below the 6.94 million-unit pace in February 2006.”
From Reuters. “Freddie Mac, the No. 2 U.S. mortgage finance company, reported a $480 million net loss for the fourth quarter of 2006, the company said Friday.”...
http://thehousingbubbleblog.com/?p=2531
Business-Spending Slowdown May Sap Job Growth, Surprising Fed
A slowdown in business investment that the Federal Reserve expects to end without much damage to the economy may instead linger long enough to hurt job growth.
Business spending may be a significant overlooked risk to the Fed's forecast of moderate economic growth this year, economists say. When spending growth tapers off, a slowdown in hiring almost always follows, according to researchers at Commerzbank AG.
``The weakness in capital spending is alarming,'' says Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York. ``If capital spending is weak and getting weaker, the next thing companies will do is slow hiring.'' ...
