credit crisis

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Best Places for Home Bargains
Best Places for Home Bargains

Best Places for Home Bargains

Plenty of opportunity exists for money-minded buyers, Forbes says

(Newser) - Certain housing markets are better than others for bargain-hunters, Forbes reports, and they're generally the ones with a glut of homes, strong job growth, and a low rate of foreclosures. Forbes rattles off its top 10:
  1. Salt Lake City: highest job growth in the country, and low foreclosure
  2. Raleigh, NC:
...

Credit Crunch May Worsen Fast
Credit Crunch May Worsen Fast

Credit Crunch May Worsen Fast

Plunging corporate loans could spell more trouble

(Newser) - The worst of the credit crunch may not be over, bankers and analysts warn. Low-rated corporate loans have recently been plunging in value, which could lead to banks rushing to dump the loans at low prices, reports the Wall Street Journal. As a result, investors may back off securities backed...

World Economy May Dodge US Downturn
World Economy May Dodge US Downturn

World Economy May Dodge US Downturn

IMF predicts slide, but not the crisis it would have been 5 years ago

(Newser) - The world economy will still catch a cold when America sneezes, but it won't be as bad as it would have been 5-10 years ago, the Washington Post reports. The International Monetary Fund predicts a 2008 global growth forecast of 4.1%—down from 4.9% last year—largely because...

Sallie Mae Drops $900M Lawsuit
Sallie Mae Drops $900M Lawsuit

Sallie Mae Drops $900M Lawsuit

Move helps struggling student loan provider obtain $31B in financing

(Newser) - Beleaguered student loan provider Sallie Mae yesterday dropped its $900 million lawsuit against the onetime suitors who bailed on a $25.3 billion buyout after the credit crunch caused would-be investors to walk away, reports the Washington Post. By agreeing not to seek the penalty from investment firm JC Flowers...

Spain Socialists Face Suddenly Tough Election

Vote next month will be world's first big test of credit crunch fallout

(Newser) - The Socialist Zapatero government is facing an unexpected hitch in its re-election plans: a downtrodden Spanish economy. The vote March 9 is the first in a big nation in the wake of the world credit crunch, the Economist reports, and it will test the political fallout of a burst housing...

Americans Drive Cycle of Auto Debt
Americans
Drive Cycle
of Auto Debt

Americans Drive Cycle of Auto Debt

New cars tempt buyers into larger, longer loans that outlast the vehicle

(Newser) - More and more Americans are entering a cycle of larger, longer, and far riskier auto loans, raising the possibility of a debt crisis similar to the one that has hit the housing market. The Los Angeles Times explores the increasing trend of trading in a used car for a new...

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low
New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

New Home Sales Hit 12-Year Low

Decline tops even worst estimate

(Newser) - New home sales fell much farther than expected in November, hitting their lowest point since 1995, Bloomberg reports, and the slide only likely to get worse. Sales fell to an annual pace of 647,000, a 9% drop from October’s revised-down 711,000 rate. Prices are falling, but buyers...

Is the Worst Over for the Dollar?
Is the Worst Over for the Dollar?

Is the Worst Over for the Dollar?

Experts predict modest rise for greenback in '08

(Newser) - After a year that saw the dollar slip to record lows against the euro and its weakest position in decades, the worst might be over for the beleaguered greenback. A survey of 42 strategists by Bloomberg found nearly unanimous consensus that the dollar is set for a gain, with a...

Goldman Sees Bigger Losses for Big Banks

Predicts larger writedowns at Citi, Merrill, JP Morgan

(Newser) - Goldman Sachs has some bad news for Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase: An analyst predicts even bigger fourth-quarter writedowns for all three firms than they've already cottoned to, thanks to continued exposure to collateralized debt. The losses will be “significantly larger than investors are anticipating.” How large...

Banks Face Simpler, Tougher Times
Banks Face Simpler, Tougher Times

Banks Face Simpler, Tougher Times

Effect of subprime crisis on bottom line shows no signs of abating

(Newser) - Investors waiting for the big banks to turn it around after 2007’s subprime debacle might be waiting a long time, the Wall Street Journal warns. The credit crunch has unraveled a complicated modern banking model that gave big firms nearly total balance sheet flexibility. “It was a different...

Brits Hatch Secret Plan to Bail Out Northern Rock

No good options for struggling bank

(Newser) - Worried that the state might be stuck nationalizing Northern Rock, Britain has worked up a contingency plan behind closed doors to divide the troubled bank among the country’s commercial banks. A private buyout is still preferable, the Guardian reports, but some now fear the main bidders will back out,...

Northern Rock Boss Quits as Fall Continues

$570M writedown posted; sale of troubled bank months away

(Newser) - The CEO of collapsing British bank Northern Rock quit this morning without comment, reports the Financial Times. Adam Applegarth resigned last month but had pledged to stay on as CEO until the end of January to guide the struggling company through its upcoming sale. But investors are troubled by the...

China Looks to Buy American
China Looks
to Buy American

China Looks to Buy American

Seeks investments to adjust yuan growth; US official set for talks

(Newser) - China, increasingly being called upon to more rapidly adjust the growth of the yuan against the dollar, is looking to expand its investment in US assets as a way to funnel its powerhouse currency out of the country, Bloomberg reports today. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson visits Beijing Wednesday for a...

Mortgage Crisis Rivals S&L, Tech Busts

Complex implosion could take far longer to untangle, experts say

(Newser) - How does the current mortgage debacle measure up to the savings-and-loan meltdown of the 1980s and the tech crash of 2000? Losses look manageable, the Wall Street Journal reports in a detailed analysis of how this crisis differs from other crashes, and how likely it is to spin the economy...

Pending Home Sales Rise Slightly
Pending Home Sales Rise Slightly

Pending Home Sales Rise Slightly

New numbers make quarter-point cut more likely, traders say

(Newser) - US home sales jumped in October and will rise slightly overall next year, beating forecasts, the Wall Street Journal reports. The National Association of Realtors' index for pending sales of existing homes spiked 0.6% in October over September, which was up 1.4% over August—but those increases are...

Bad Credit? Buy a Piece of Someone Else's

Company boosts scores by adding names to paid-off loans

(Newser) - Americans struggling with bad credit records may have a new route to a better score: For as little as $1,199, a San Diego company is offering the chance for customers to add their names to already-paid-off loans in order to boost their rating, the Los Angeles Times reports. The...

Tech IPOs Back, But With a Difference

Lessons of dot-com bust learned, startups wait until near-profitable

(Newser) - Tech IPOs are back--but this time around, things are more subdued than in the heady days of the dot-com boom. These days, tech startups wait until they are profitable, or at least cash-flow positive, before making a public debut, MarketWatch reports. The strong performance of VMWare's August IPO has boosted...

In '08, It's Really the Economy, Stupid

Worried over job, credit, health woes, voters put Iraq on back burner

(Newser) - With gas prices stratospheric, the housing market tanking, and recession looking likely, voters aren't too worried about Iraq, reports the Wall Street Journal. Job concerns have transformed illegal immigration and health care into major issues. “You have to have a health plan even in the Republican primary,” says...

Municipalities Feel Credit Market Pain

Unaffordable bonds mean projects stall— or taxes rise

(Newser) - Cities, towns, and schools are learning what would-be homeowners already know: the credit market stinks. Municipalities have grown addicted to financing projects with extremely low-interest bonds, but such cheap credit is hard to come by as bond insurers swing in the subprime wind, the Washington Post reports. Local governments either...

Freddie Mac Loses $2B, Seeks Cash
Freddie Mac Loses $2B, Seeks Cash

Freddie Mac Loses $2B, Seeks Cash

No. 2 mortgage lender's capital is close to regulatory minimum

(Newser) - Freddie Mac, the second-largest US mortgage lender, lost $2.02 billion this quarter, its worst quarter ever, the company said this morning. With core capital almost below its regulatory minimum, the company is looking for fast cash, hiring Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers to help bail it out, and “...

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