Headline News Archive

2009

June

25

• Split over new consumer watchdog agency. There is broad agreement in Congress that government regulators failed to protect Americans from subprime mortgages and other risky credit products, but Democrats and Republicans

23

• Obama refis: slow out of the gate. The Mortgage Bankers Association has slashed its estimate of the number of mortgages its members will issue in 2009. One reason: Few refinancings are being done

• Lost jobs forcing more out of homes. The nation's foreclosure crisis — once largely confined to only a few corners of the country — is spreading to new areas as the economy teeters. The

22

• 'Vanilla' home loans could help borrowers. If President Barack Obama gets his way, consumers who take out mortgages would automatically get a "plain vanilla" loan - such as a traditional 30-year

• Home tax credit may rise. Lawmakers and businesses are calling for expansion of a tax credit for first-time home buyers that has helped spark home sales in an otherwise dismal

• Busca la hipoteca más saludable. La comparación de precios de hipotecas o préstamos de vivienda te ayudará a conseguir términos de financiamiento más favorables. Una hipoteca —

21

• Crack-down on rescue scams. Scams that claim to help consumers avoid foreclosure have been on the rise lately as some individuals try to take advantage of financially distressed homeowners.

• The credit score shell game. As banks tighten their lending standards, one number is playing an increasingly critical role in determining the financial fortunes of consumers: the credit score. This

20

• Mortgages tougher for transferred workers. Real estate may be showing signs of a turnaround in many local markets, but the nation's largest mortgage players are continuing to ratchet up their

19

• Las cinco C's de un préstamo. ¿Has solicitado recientemente un préstamo de banco o piensas hacerlo pronto? Si es así, estás compitiendo por crédito en un ambiente de

18

• Financial reform still in early innings. The Obama administration’s broad plan to overhaul financial regulations offers dozens of new ideas about how to keep the markets safe, maintain a sound

• Obama defends financial overhaul. President Obama introduced his plan to reform financial regulations yesterday as a key to reviving the economy, setting up an intense battle over the particulars

• Obama crea agencia para proteger al consumidor. El presidente Barack Obama propondrá la creación de una nueva agencia reguladora que vigile a los prestamistas y proteja el crédito, ahorro y

16

• Sellers of mortgage loans to share in losses. The Obama administration said yesterday that it will seek to overhaul the business of selling investments made from mortgage loans, a marketplace that provided the

14

• Sell the time share. Dear Liz: My husband signed up for a time share when we were on vacation, just months before we bought our first home. Now one

13

• Lawmakers move to extend homebuyers' credit. If first-time buyers are getting thousands of dollars in tax credits from the federal government to stimulate the economy, why shouldn't all home buyers get

12

• Establece, administra y protege tu crédito. Muchas transacciones en Estados Unidos dependen del crédito. Cuando pides un préstamo, intentas alquilar una vivienda, solicitas una tarjeta de crédito o

10

• Cuidado con los préstamos fáciles. Un período de bajas tasas de interés, como el que vive el actual mercado inmobiliario, suele ser el mejor momento para solicitar un

09

• The trouble with Democrats. The governing party faced an awkward dilemma. People were hurting and furious at the government's generous bailouts for banks. But how could the Democrats do

• Homes used to buoy finances are sinking. In better economic times, Santa Clarita mortgage broker Fred Arnold relied on a home equity line of credit if his cash flow was uneven and

07

• Enough teeth to fight the loan sharks. Pity the neighborhood loan shark. The credit card companies have stolen his customers by taking a softer approach to charging outrageous interest rates. During the

• Insight from inside the mortgage crisis. It hadn't even hit the bookstores before this month's Color of Money Book Club selection, "Busted," set off a flurry of Internet conversations. Sanctimonious critics

06

• When a layoff becomes a lifestyle. When Matthew Thomas of Alexandria was laid off in September from a downtown Washington advocacy group, he wasn't too worried. The 49-year-old office worker had

04

• Bankruptcy filings rise. Consumer and commercial bankruptcy filings are on pace to reach a stunning 1.5 million this year, according to a report from Automated Access to Court Electronic

02

• Administration nears finance overhaul plan. Washington is asking some painful questions about how to prevent the next financial meltdown. Should it reinvent the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation? Abolish the seemingly