housing bubble

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'Mini-Madoff' Scammed Churchgoers, Blames Banks

(Newser) - For some, 2009 may be remembered as the year of the Ponzi scheme: Last year, federal regulators prosecuted 13 such scams, but in just the first few months of this year, they’ve already filed 22 cases, reports ABC News. One recent bust is Long Island's Peter Dawson, who stiffed...

Your Neighborhood Realtor: 'I'm Really, Really Sorry'

(Newser) - Erica Ferencik can’t stand the guilt anymore. “I am the reason the world is in an economic tailspin,” she writes in Salon. “I'm your neighborhood real estate agent, and I'm really, really sorry.” When Ferencik got into real estate 9 years ago, she found herself...

'Car Bubble' Blows Up on Automakers
'Car Bubble' Blows Up on Automakers
Apr 3, 2009 10:01 AM CDT

'Car Bubble' Blows Up on Automakers

Sales were artificially high in boom years; rebound unlikely

(Newser) - The housing boom brought a car bubble along for the ride, and now that one has burst, so has the other, reports the Washington Post. Thousands of cars are sitting on lots and likely to stay there. “You had a huge number of cars being sold," says Steven...

To Dodge Recession, Move to Huntsville

Mid-size cities do better in crunch, have seen lending increase

(Newser) - While big cities and rural areas have taken a beating as the financial crisis unfolds, many mid-size cities have seen consumer lending increase, indicating an economic resilience that other areas lack, the Wall Street Journal reports. In cities with populations around 400,000—like Huntsville, Ala.; McAllen, Texas; and Provo,...

Recession a Long-Term Bummer for SoCal, Dude

(Newser) - The recession hit Southern California earlier and harder than almost any other part of the country—and it’s likely to linger a lot longer too, Steve Pearlstein writes in the Washington Post. The area played a “central role in the Bubble Economy,” and now, being the “...

Hard Times Again Push Irish Youth Abroad

Flatlining economy makes US, Britain, Canada attractive

(Newser) - After two decades of boom, Ireland’s economy has faltered and Irish youth are once again looking to distant shores for opportunity, the Los Angeles Times reports. Experts predict up to a 7% contraction this year for an economy that posted double-digit gains not too long ago, and, like their...

Bush Years Were Dark for US Economy
Bush Years Were Dark for US Economy
Jan 12, 2009 11:49 AM CST

Bush Years Were Dark for US Economy

'We really went nowhere for almost 10 years,' says economist

(Newser) - The Bush years have not been good ones for the economy, the Washington Post reports, based on an analysis of economic data and discussions with economists of all stripes. Job growth for Bush’s tenure amounts to just 2%, the smallest 8-year gain on record, and GDP grew at its...

Vindicated in 2008, Some Experts Foresee Gloomy '09

A few who called last year's calamities correctly see grim days ahead

(Newser) - Labeled overly pessimistic for years, a few Wall Street prognosticators became the oracles of 2008 by correctly predicting the unwinding of the global economy, the Wall Street Journal reports. The doomsayers correctly anticipated bank failures, stock market declines, and the housing market collapse of the second half of 2008. As...

Housing Bust Makes Divorce Too Costly for Many Couples

Couples stick it out as tough market makes splitting too expensive

(Newser) - Breaking up is hard to do, but in a housing bust it can be well nigh impossible. With one in six homes worth less than the mortgage owed on it, couples on the skids are finding divorce plans scuttled by an inability to sell the marital home. And with job...

Krugman: Obama Can't Take Crutches Away Too Soon
Krugman: Obama Can't Take Crutches Away Too Soon
OPINION
Dec 22, 2008 12:54 PM CST

Krugman: Obama Can't Take Crutches Away Too Soon

Government must remain involved for economy to gain new footing

(Newser) - The Obama administration must resist the temptation to leave the economy to its own devices too soon, Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times. “Getting to the point where our economy can thrive without fiscal support may be a difficult, drawn-out process,” he writes, with no bubble...

Clinton's Gains-Tax Break Pumped Up Housing Bubble
Clinton's Gains-Tax Break Pumped Up Housing Bubble
ANALYSIS
Dec 19, 2008 11:18 AM CST

Clinton's Gains-Tax Break Pumped Up Housing Bubble

Eliminating levy on profit from home sales encouraged Americans to play the market

(Newser) - A tax break introduced by President Clinton and made law in 1997 helped fuel the housing bubble that eventually led to the current economic crisis, the New York Times reports. The cut, which allowed owners to sell their homes without paying capital-gains taxes on profits up to $500,000, created...

Bernanke Plugs More Help for US Homeowners

Fed chief outlines ideas for public, private sector to slow foreclosures

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke says more must be done to halt record US home-foreclosure rates, the New York Times reports. The Federal Reserve chief suggested several options today, including the government buying bad mortgages en masse and refinancing them through a government-insured program, and strengthening a scheme aimed at lowering homeowners’ monthly...

Thrift Helped Get Us Into This Mess
 Thrift Helped 
 Get Us Into 
 This Mess 
OPINION
Nov 25, 2008 10:09 AM CST

Thrift Helped Get Us Into This Mess

"Wealth effect" is playing out in reverse

(Newser) - Three factors are playing into the financial crisis, and it's time to recognize the culprit that accompanies the burst housing bubble and banking meltdown, Robert J. Samuelson writes in the Washington Post. The wealth effect—"the tendency of people to adjust their spending as their wealth changes"—...

Guess What's Still Selling Strong?

Obama's anti-gun stance and fears of economic chaos fuel record gun sales

(Newser) - Fears of an anti-gun presidency and the threat of civil unrest in a worsening economic climate are fueling record sales of firearms and ammunition, the Washington Post reports. Sales have been climbing since 2006 and this year have shot past the average annual 5% increase to reach 10%, as gun...

Home Sales Up 5.5%, Biggest Gain in 5 Years

Inventories still at historic highs

(Newser) - Sales of existing US homes rose by the largest amount in more than five years in last month, a real estate trade group said today. The data offer a glimmer of hope that the housing slump could be starting to bottom out. The National Association of Realtors said sales of...

Enough about the Deficit: It's Time to Spend
Enough about the Deficit: It's Time to Spend
OPINION
Oct 17, 2008 10:32 AM CDT

Enough about the Deficit: It's Time to Spend

The Fed can't help much, but the government can

(Newser) - Volatile markets rule the headlines, but the imperiled nonfinancial economy is more worrisome, Paul Krugman writes in the New York Times. The way to get that rolling again, contrary to what John McCain said in Wednesday’s presidential debate, is to ignore the deficit and increase government spending. As retail...

Panic Has Passed, but We Haven't Hit Bottom

Get ready for a long recession

(Newser) - The most panicky phase of the global financial crisis is likely over, thanks to the combined efforts of the world’s governments, writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. But don’t “confuse this moment of calm with a stock market bottom or a sign that a serious recession...

Mortgage Crisis? Blame George Bailey
Mortgage Crisis? Blame George Bailey
OPINION
Oct 12, 2008 1:26 PM CDT

Mortgage Crisis? Blame George Bailey

It's A Wonderful Life hero helped poor buy unaffordable homes

(Newser) - The housing bubble that triggered the current economic crisis began with a post-Depression attitude toward owning a home presented in the classic Christmas flick It’s a Wonderful Life, writes Ross Douthat in the Washington Post. Hero banker George Bailey’s chief goal was to loan the poor enough money...

All Economy's Bubbles Have Burst at Once
All Economy's Bubbles
Have Burst at Once
Analysis
Oct 7, 2008 4:07 PM CDT

All Economy's Bubbles Have Burst at Once

Dominoes tumble from real estate to credit to commodities

(Newser) - The real reason the global economy is tanking is because a huge set of financial bubbles are all bursting at once, explains Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. The US real-estate bubble started the party, leading to a burst in the credit bubble, the corporate takeover bubble, and the commodities...

Housing Will Bottom June 30, 2009: Cramer
Housing Will Bottom June 30, 2009: Cramer
OPINION
Sep 8, 2008 2:29 PM CDT

Housing Will Bottom June 30, 2009: Cramer

Bombastic guru lists 10 signs of a real-estate turnaround

(Newser) - Jim Cramer has spent over a year “shouting in my usual unhinged way” about the bleak real estate market, he writes in New York. But now he’s so confident housing’s headed for a bottom that he’ll name the exact date: June 30, 2009. Why?
  1. New home
...

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