President Bush Signs Housing Bill

President Bush signed the housing rescue bill into law on Wednesday. The new laws have two main objectives; to help struggling homeowners refinance into affordable loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), and to give additional funding to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) that buy or back about half … Read more

The Subprime Mortgage Bailout

There’s been a lot of heated discussion about the mortgage bailout. And why shouldn’t the discussion be heated? Predatory lenders and gullible borrowers got together, and somehow the borrowers became convinced that they could afford a house they didn’t have the income to pay for. Thinking the boom in real estate would never end and … Read more

The Economic Stimulus Package

So, have you received the friendly little reminder the IRS sent to you? Many taxpayers will receive a rebate of $600, $1200 for joint filers, and an additional $300 for each qualifying child. Even those with no tax liability may receive $300; all you have to do to be eligible is to file your 2007 … Read more

Taxpayers Rescue Citigroup

Citigroup has become the next major institution troubled by bad mortgage-related investments to receive a taxpayer bailout. The New York-based mega-bank is yet another financial giant to be considered “too big to fail”; the company has its hand in so many deals around the world that its failure would be catastrophic to the global economy, … Read more

The Housing Bust and Our Country’s Recession Fears

What is a recession? A recession is often defined as two consecutive quarters of slowing economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product (GDP), but it’s really a little more complicated than that. Economists must measure data regarding personal income, unemployment rates, industrial production, and sales and manufacturing volume to determine whether we are … Read more