Headline News Archive

2008

November

03

• Bargain hunters help shrink housing glut. wer home prices are luring some buyers back into the U.S. housing market, but foreclosures and a weakening economy are likely to keep downward pressure…

02

• Shouldn't have to show 'em no stinkin' SSNs. For 43 trouble-free years, John Murray never left home without his American Express card. The retired data coordinator dutifully paid an annual fee every year…

• Beware promises to scrub bad credit reports. With foreclosures, short sales and credit card defaults at record levels, an aggressive breed of firms has sprung up offering to power-wash consumers' damaged credit…

• 10 ways to protect your home investment. You flip the switch and the heat goes on. You make your mortgage payments and your lender is not threatening you. So all's right with…

• Opening the tap on home equity. Many homeowners who have taken out home equity lines of credit have learned in recent months that these loans are not as useful as they…

01

• Home improvement shows skip drudgery. Thea Rudland knows how hard it can be to buy and sell a house, no matter what you see on television. She and her husband,…

October

31

• 7.5 million homeowners 'underwater'. At least 7.5 million Americans owe more on their mortgages than their homes are currently worth, according to a real estate research firm's report released…

• Mortgage plan may aid many and irk others. As the Treasury Department prepares a $40 billion program to help delinquent homeowners avoid foreclosure, it confronts a difficult challenge: not making the plan too…

30

• Federal government may back revised mortgages. Federal officials moved closer Wednesday to guaranteeing as much as $500 billion in mortgages after they are modified to make them more affordable to homeowners,…

28

• Home loans no longer a sure thing. Jonathan Schecter is set to close next month on the purchase of an apartment in New York City, but it's been an adventure getting there.…

• Foreclosures open door to disorder. Among the many harsh lessons for mortgage lenders in the housing bust is this one about evictions: Selling a house is far easier than taking…

• Coming to Detroit's rescue?. The Bush administration is in negotiations to broaden its $700 billion financial rescue plan to include U.S. auto companies, potentially opening the door to an…

26

• Crises help create a teachable moment. Unemployment is rising. The stock market is setting all sorts of records - mostly bad. And the economy might be headed into a prolonged recession.…

• Stay out of debt in rollercoaster economy. In the face of an unpredictable economy, can you withstand a fiscal crisis? Here are four steps to take to protect your household from falling…

25

• Trying for a bigger tax credit. Reluctant potential home buyers could be in line for some additional tax and financing enticements, either through a post-election lame duck congressional session or from…

24

• 4 programs to help troubled homeowners. Assistance is growing to help financially distressed homeowners, but the nation's mounting caseload of foreclosures and mortgage delinquencies is rising faster. The Bush administration should…

• California law puts brakes on home defaults. The number of people losing their homes in California hit a record high of nearly 80,000 in the last three months, but a new state…

• Countrywide mortgage rates may be slashed. With calls growing for stronger action to help troubled homeowners, consumer advocates are hailing a mortgage-modification program being implemented by Bank of America Corp.'s Countrywide…

• Treasury may help homeowners. The federal government may start guaranteeing home mortgages to persuade lenders to ease the monthly financial burden on struggling homeowners, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman…

23

• Credit rating agency heads grilled by lawmakers. Conflicts of interest were largely responsible for the disastrous performance of credit rating agencies in assessing the risks of mortgage-backed securities, two former high-ranking officials…

22

• Banks mine data and woo troubled borrowers. Brenda Jerez hardly seems like the kind of person lenders would fight over. For months after she emerged from insolvency last fall, 6 to 10…

• Public likely to pay for rising personal bankruptcies. Matthew Shelbourn knows money. The 27-year-old Cerritos resident studied accounting as an undergrad at USC and kicked around various jobs in the financial sector before…

• Lenders help more homeowners avoid foreclosure. The deep economic crisis has more lenders willing to change mortgages or repayment schedules for homeowners at risk of default, to stem their potential losses…

21

• Second stimulus plan gains traction. An effort to boost the economy with a massive injection of public funds gained momentum yesterday, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke tentatively endorsed…

20

• Mortgage market remains intact. Everybody knows how severe and painful the global financial breakdown has been, with banks unwilling to lend even to other banks. But what about mortgages…