As a nation, we’re collectively late with our payments again. For one, the rate of 60-day delinquencies among homeowners — basically two missed mortgage payments — rose in the September quarter, according to TransUnion. The jump from 5.82% to 5.88% is the first rise in the delinquency rate in two years.
Companies & Industries
After Walking Away from a Mortgage, No Regrets—Not Many Consequences Either
Two years ago, a national debate raged regarding strategic default: Was it wrong to walk away from one’s mortgage? Or, when a homeowner is underwater—owing more than the home was worth—is it a purely business situation in …
The Weird Connection Between Moving and Prosperity
The popular imagination tends to see migration to find work in a new city as an act of desperation. After all, what’s more frightening than leaving one’s friends, family and community behind to seek one’s fortune elsewhere, a …
Obama’s Housing Refinance Program: Underwhelming Policy, Expedient Politics
Did you know that you can’t be for fixing the housing market and not be for President Barack Obama’s American Jobs Act? That was the underlying message of a conference call with two top Obama advisers on Monday morning, …
Credit Scores Down But Credit Card Debt Up
Numbers don’t lie, but sometimes they don’t tell the whole story. Credit score and product site CreditKarma.com compared the amount of credit card, mortgage and student loan debt in each state, along with each state’s average …
Suze Orman Offers 4 Tips on How to Save (and Spend) Your Money
“Are you afraid?” asked Suze Orman. “Are you afraid when it comes to your money? Well, you should be.” The lively personal finance expert and host of CNBC’s The Suze Orman Show appeared at Chicago Ideas Week (CIW) last night, …
Can America compete without Steve Jobs?
At first glance, the question that serves as the title of this post might sound a tad ridiculous. After all, Steve Jobs, no matter how talented, was just one man in charge of one company in a $14.6 trillion economy. How can the …
Steve Jobs the businessman: Can Apple thrive without him?
As Apple fans mourn the unfortunate loss of Steve Jobs, the great innovator will be remembered most of all for how his ideas changed people’s lives. But in the world of business, he will also be honored as an absolutely …
Is Obama anti-business?
Mort Zuckerman repeated a charge in the Financial Times this week that President Barack Obama is “anti-business” and that is why the U.S. recovery remains anemic and corporate America isn’t hiring. Here’s a bit of what the editor of U.S. News & World Report had to say:
The fear is that a double-dip, or worse, is now upon us.
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Conforming Loan Limit Shrinks This Weekend — Will It Hurt the Already Beaten Down Market?
On Saturday, federally guaranteed loans — the limits on which were increased during the financial upheaval of 2008 to as high as $729,750 in some parts of the country — will be capped at $625,500. Homebuyers looking to …
The Phantom Pumpkin Shortage
The horror. Halloween is under threat this year because of a paucity of pumpkins. There’ll be nothing to carve by October 31 if you don’t run to the store now to purchase your pumpkin. Your children will curse you. Vampires …
Should You Switch to a 15-Year Mortgage?
As 30-year fixed mortgage rates have hit historical lows, there’s been one less-publicized corollary: 15-year fixed rates are low, too.