debt

It’s not that difficult to understand why everyone would be ready to sound the alarm on inflation. The government has been borrowing heavily and the Federal Reserve has been massively expanding its balance sheet and holding its interest rate target at very near zero. In ordinary times, this combination would send prices soaring. And while [...]

Here’s a good game for a rainy Sunday.
Several credit card companies have launched a new Website designed to help struggling card users manage their debts amid the economic downturn. The site includes tips to avoid penalties and links to access counseling services. But the fan favorite has to be an interactive tool allowing consumers to [...]

Saying the Democrats’ Detroit bailout plan “guarantees failure at taxpayer expense,” House Republicans on Wednesday introduced an alternative blueprint asking union workers to take a pay cut and give up benefits.
The current powers that be — both in Washington and Detroit — can’t be trusted to fix a problem they created, the Republicans say. From [...]

At creditslips.org, Bob Lawless raises the most reasonable question I’ve seen so far about Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s decision to shift the focus of the government bailout plan to consumers. In an attempt to get credit flowing again, Paulson wants to try to increase the availability of student loans, auto loans and credit cards.
Here’s the [...]

Mortgage Insider tallies up the carnage among subprime lenders since the foreclosure crisis began — and it’s grim:
The list of major subprime lenders for 2006 and 2007 resembles the casualty roster from the Battle of Verdun in World War I. Only difference: way fewer walking wounded this time.
Of the 30 biggest subprime home lenders in [...]

Even if the White House pitch included measures to help homeowners, experts say restructuring disparate, toxic mortgages would prove difficult.

With an embedded TWI/ANP video, Pain on Main St.

Part 2: The U.S. Treasury has been able to print dollars to service its own debt, but with the rise of the euro and yen, this may change.

The credit crunch is hitting people right where it hurts: More consumers are paying their credit card bills late, and credit card companies are becoming increasingly aggressive about going after their money, The Wall Street Journal says today.
The percentage of credit card delinquencies rose in the first quarter to 4.51 percent, up from 4.41 percent [...]

Maybe we’re whiners for a reason. Bankruptcy filings climbed again in August, providing more proof that people are feeling the strains of a softening economy, creditslips reports.
The August figures show bankruptcy filings have reached a post-2005 high of 4,476 filings per day, notes credit expert Robert Lawless, a University of Illinois law professor. That milestone [...]