The banking sector still faces big challenges, but greater transparency will boost investor confidence and also encourage banks to manage risk better internally.
Real Estate Markets
Home Prices Jump 5.5% as Spring Season Nears
A spike in home prices shows that the housing market is continuing its slow path to recovery
6 Reasons the Stock Market Could Do Surprisingly Well in 2013
A slow-growing economy with little inflation can actually be the best environment for blue-chip stocks.
What the Current Economic Outlook Means for American Families
The economy is likely to keep improving, but slow growth could develop into chronic stagnation.
New Mortgage Rules: Protection From Banks, or Ourselves?
The government is set to unveil new rules pushing mortgages down a more conservative path. Is it the banks we’re worried about? Or our own behavior?
Do We Have Another Financial Bubble On Our Hands? Or Three?
Multiple debt markets are facing big trouble because of excessive borrowing and the Fed’s easy-money policies.
The Pessimist’s Guide to Surviving the Fiscal Cliff
Whatever the budget deal, it probably won’t be able to prevent sluggish growth and the risk of rising inflation.
Highly Educated Have Biggest Debt Problems
The federal government is suing Bank of America for a $1 billion over the bank’s pre-crisis mortgage practice known as “the hustle.” But it wasn’t just naive home buyers who fed the financial crisis. Renters and the well educated had too much debt too, and a new study concludes that college graduates are most prone to debt mismanagement.
House Flipping Is Hot Again
Buying a home with the intention of reselling it at a profit in the near future made a lot of sense in 2005, when home values appreciated 20% nationwide. A couple of years later, as the real estate market collapsed and millions …
Is the Stigma of Ditching Your Underwater Mortgage Fading?
A good five years after the subprime mortgage crisis and housing bubble collapse, more Americans are deciding that it’s okay to just walk away. In a new survey, roughly a third of respondents said it was socially acceptable
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The Best Times to Buy or Sell a House
The housing market, a reliable bellwether of the economy, seems to be bouncing back.
Many of the nation’s largest home builders surprised analysts by reporting a profit in the quarter that just ended. Home sales continue to …
Why Risk is Back in Fashion
Fed Chief Ben Bernanke’s strategy for making risk fashionable is gaining traction. Affluent investors are jumping off the sidelines and home prices are getting a lift. We’re not out of the woods by a long shot. But do you really …