By Emily Brandon, USNews.com
Some retirees leverage home appreciation in advance
Senior homeowners sometimes need to tap the value of their house to pay sudden expenses. Most ways to access home equity involve taking on debt. But several financial institutions offer a new alternative to often pricy reverse mortgages or other home loans.
EquityKey, a San Diego company [...]

By Shobhana Chandra, Bloomberg.com
Aug. 29 (Bloomberg) — U.S. consumer spending grew at a slower pace in July as the impact of the tax rebates faded and a pickup in inflation eroded Americans’ buying power.
Purchases rose 0.2 percent, one-third the pace in June, the Commerce Department said today in Washington, while prices surged the most in [...]

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
It’s a buyer’s market, and many are trying to take full advantage of it by demanding major home repairs, warranties on home appliances, and even tax rebates.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A rock-bottom price just isn’t enough for buyers these days – it’s a starting point. If the furnace is out [...]

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By Stephen Gandel, Money Magazine senior writer
A new law was supposed to make it easier for buyers in expensive markets to get affordable loans. Instead, rates are going up for everyone.
NEW YORK (Money Magazine) — Back in February, Congress passed into law a quick fix for the housing market. Unfortunately, it hasn’t done much good.
As [...]

By Courtney Schlisserman and Timothy R. Homan
Aug. 28 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. economy expanded faster than previously estimated in the second quarter, helped by a surge in exports that will probably wane as Europe and Japan head toward recessions.
Gross domestic product increased at a 3.3 percent annual pace, compared with the initial estimate of 1.9 [...]

By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Sales pace of new homes in July grew 2.4%, due to a large downward revision in sales from the previous month. Unadjusted monthly sales fall to 13-year low.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The government offered more discouraging news about the housing sector on Tuesday, reporting that new home sales rose slightly [...]

By Craig Torres
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) — Federal Reserve policy makers agreed this month that their next change in interest rates will be to raise them, while reaching no conclusion on the timing of such a decision.
“Although members generally anticipated that the next policy move would likely be a tightening, the timing and extent of any [...]

By Alison Vekshin
Aug. 26 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said its “problem list” of banks increased 30 percent in the second quarter to the highest total in five years as more commercial real-estate loans were overdue.
The list had 117 banks as of June 30, up from 90 in the first quarter and [...]

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Survey of top economists finds inflation concerns closing fast on credit market woes as top threat to economy.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A survey of top economists shows that many are growing more concerned about inflation and slightly less worried about mortgage and credit market problems.
According to the National Association of [...]

By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Wall Street retreats, with the Dow losing 242 points, on credit market problems and higher oil prices. Investors discount better-than-expected existing home sales report.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Credit market woes hit Wall Street again Monday, with the Dow dropping around 242 points in a thinly-traded session also influenced by fluctuating [...]

By Alison Vekshin
Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) — A recovery in the U.S. housing market from the worst slump since the Depression is unlikely until “well into 2009,” Housing and Urban Development Secretary Steve Preston said today.
“I think we’re right in the middle of it, and I think we have a ways to go before we start [...]

By Jeannine Aversa, AOL.com
JACKSON, Wyo. -Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke  said Friday the financial crisis that has pounded the country – coupled with higher inflation – is taking a toll on the economy and poses a major challenge to Fed policymakers as they try to restore stability.
“Although we have seen improved functioning in some markets, [...]

By Colin Barr, senior writer for Fortune
The stocks are swooning, but the feds are understandably in no hurry to own the whole U.S. mortgage business.
Fed ‘prays’ for housing fix
NEW YORK (Fortune) — The frenzied trading in shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seems to assume the government will soon ride to the rescue of [...]

By Catherine Clifford, CNNMoney.com staff writer
The greenback recovers after British GDP shows zero growth. Bernanke comments have little impact.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The dollar staged a rebound Friday after a report on the United Kingdom’s economy showed lower-than-expected growth.
Comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that persistent problems in the financial markets threaten the nation’s [...]

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By CNBC writer
The eventual fates of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac-along with Wall Street titan Lehman Brothers-could prove to be a watershed in the financial crisis and help restore confidence in the stock market, analysts say.
The immediate impact of a collapse of any of the firms would likely create panic selling on Wall [...]

By Shobhana Chandra and Timothy R. Homan
Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. slowdown will deepen in the second half of the year as housing continues to slump and unemployment rises, according to a measure designed to predict the economy’s direction.
The Conference Board’s index of leading indicators fell 0.7 percent in July, more than triple the [...]

By William Heisel, Los Angeles Times staff writer
The $4-billion plan may hurt homeowners in the state who are trying to sell. Several county governments are unsure whether they have the staff to make use of the funding.
To Congress, it looked like a way to both ease blight and provide affordable housing: give local governments $4 [...]

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Fannie drops 20%, Freddie down 22% in continued Wall Street nervousness over housing market woes.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Battered mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took yet another hit on Wednesday as concerns grew about a possible government bailout.
Shares of Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) plunged 20% and Freddie (FRE, [...]

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By Shamim Adam, Bloomberg.com
Aug. 19 (Bloomberg) — Credit market turmoil has driven the U.S. into a recession and may topple some of the nation’s biggest banks, said Kenneth Rogoff, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund.
“The worst is yet to come in the U.S.,” Rogoff, a Harvard University professor of economics, said in an [...]

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Housing starts and permits both fall sharply in July to levels not seen since 1991 recession.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Home building fell sharply in July to a 17-year low, according to government readings released Tuesday that offered fresh signs that the battered real estate market has yet to hit bottom.
Housing [...]

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By Mark Clothier, Bloomberg.com
Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — Home Depot Inc., whose shares have risen 27 percent in New York trading since July 15, may disappoint investors tomorrow by saying profit this year will fall more than it forecast three months ago.
The world’s largest home-improvement retailer is facing the deepest housing slump since the Great Depression, [...]

By Lynn Adler, on Yahoo.com
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors dumped shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday after Barron’s reported the increasing likelihood of a U.S. Treasury bailout that would approach nationalization of the two housing finance titans.
The weekly financial newspaper said such a move could wipe out existing holders of the largest [...]

By Feiwen Rong and Chanyaporn Chanjaroen
Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) — Gold plunged below $800 an ounce, heading for the biggest weekly slide in more than 25 years, and oil, wheat and sugar slumped as the dollar’s rebound reduced the appeal of commodities after a six-year boom.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities tumbled as much as [...]

By Jeff Collins, The Orange County Register
Survey of recent ‘paired home’ sales shows that almost 1 out of every 2 homes sell for less than their previous sale price.
The modest house on Blue Jay Lane seems like an unlikely place to find a countywide trend.
Yet the three-bedroom, two-bath Garden Grove house less than five miles [...]

The Lenders delivery on a promise (update 1)
By Jeff Rose
Aug. 15 (Loanspeed.com) – I have read some articles in news today that is very disappointing about our banking system.  I want to hear from the people who are getting over promised and under delivered from our banking industry.  I want to put a list together [...]

By Aaron Smith, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Consumers feel the sting as prices jump again to highest point since 1991 – monthly increase twice what was expected.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The annual inflation rate surged to 5.6% in July – the highest point in 17 years, the government announced Thursday.
The previous month’s reading on annual inflation was [...]

By Lynn Thomasson, Bloomberg.com
Aug. 14 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stocks rose for the first time in three days after a trade group loosened restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to help revive the mortgage industry.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest sources of financing for U.S. home loans, each jumped more than 6 percent after [...]

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer on Yahoo.com
Real estate prices continued to post steep year-over-year declines during the three months ended June 30, according to a new report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Nationwide, the median existing single family home price plunged 7.6% to $206,500 in the second quarter, down from $223,500 in the [...]

By Associated Press, CNNMoney.com
The cuts could preserve $5 billion by the end of 2009 as the bank struggles with subprime fallout.
NEW YORK (AP) — Wachovia Corp. said Monday it plans to cut 600 more jobs than it previously expected as it works to reduce expenses in the face of staggering losses tied to mortgage debt.
According [...]

By David Goldman, CNNMoney.com staff writer
The Olympics have become a multi-billion dollar business, and the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China are expected to set record revenues.
The 2008 Summer Olympic Games begin Friday in Beijing, and the world will be captivated by the 13,000 athletes competing over the next two weeks.
But what was once [...]

By Craig Torres, Bloomberg.com
Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve said more banks made it harder to borrow money as defaults and delinquencies on home loans soared and the economy faltered.
Most “domestic institutions reported having tightened their lending standards and terms on all major loan categories over the previous three months,” the Fed said today [...]

By Glenn Somerville, Reuters on Yahoo.com
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Home sales contracts signed in June unexpectedly rose across the country to its highest level since October, but still were well below year-earlier levels, a real estate trade group said on Thursday.
The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on contracts [...]

By Hugh Son, Bloomberg.com
Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) — American International Group Inc., the biggest U.S. insurer by assets, fell the most in at least 28 years of New York trading after writing down more than $11 billion of holdings and saying it won’t rule out raising capital.
“It’s very hard to predict right now when and if [...]

By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer
With banks tightening their credit standards, many have to walk a fine line when it comes to lending to consumers.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Forget oil and gold. Credit might be the commodity that’s in the scarcest supply these days.
Saddled by soaring loan losses, banks have been drastically tightening their lending [...]

By Les Christie, CNNMoney.com staff writer
Home buyers may find big savings in locking in mortgage interest rates.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Since mortgage interest rates are on the rise, home buyers can save considerable cash by locking in a reasonable rate when they find one.
During the housing boom, interest rates were extremely low – generally between [...]

By Margot Habiby, Bloomberg.com
Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) — Crude oil fell below $120 a barrel for the first time since May amid speculation that Tropical Storm Edouard won’t cause disruption to most offshore oil facilities as it approaches the coast of Texas.
Edouard, which may reach hurricane strength tomorrow, hasn’t shut significant oil output in the U.S. [...]

By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer on Yahoo.com
Fed likely to leave rates steady as it straddles slow economic growth, inflation concerns
WASHINGTON (AP) — An ugly brew of rising unemployment, spiking foreclosures and gyrating energy prices is plaguing the country and making life difficult for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as he tries to right the [...]

By Chris Isidore, CNNMoney.com senior writer
Interest rates likely on hold for a while as worries about economic weakness and inflation leave central bank with few good options.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke talked about the risks posed by both further economic weakness as well as inflation in testimony to Congress last month.
But [...]

By Shobhana Chandra, Bloomberg.com
Aug. 1 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. unemployment rate rose to the highest level in more than four years as employers cut jobs again in July, increasing the threat of a deeper economic slowdown.
Payrolls fell by 51,000, less than forecast, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate rose to 5.7 [...]