Credit Saint News Clippings

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"I never thought I'd be able to refinance so quickly and save my home. Your program really got me back in control when I thought I'd have to sell my home and uproot my family. From 515 to 642 in 90 days. Now I can handle my mortgage payment. Incredible. Simply incredible."

-Scott- New Brunswick, NJ

Credit News Clippings

Trying to escape the "credit crunch"

"Home equity loans, home equity borrowing was a real big part of the boom and if suddenly they lose their ability to do that, because they no longer can borrow against their home, it's a very big hit to the economy,” says economist Dean Baker.

And the tightening credit crunch has consumer confidence at it's lowest in two years. Translation: businesses are suffering, reports CBS News correspondent Michelle Miller.

"Businesses are now being forced to cut back on plans they had to expand, plans to hire more people, plans to hire more products because they just aren't able to get their hands on the capital that they need to do that," says John Arensmeyer.

That's exactly what happened to a Dallas-based cleaning company. Sparkling Image just this month lost several franchise purchases after banks tightened lending requirements.

"It can also affect someone psychologically. The safety net that they thought was there in their home in this equity may or may not be there in six months," says Sparkling Image CEO Laurence Casby.

-CBS- News

FORECLOSURES CONTINUE TO RISE

FORECLOSURES UP NEARLY 100%

The number of homes in foreclosure in the third quarter of 2007 skyrocketed compared with the same quarter last year. Some experts say all the loan bailout programs have been too little, too late.

Workout efforts have been too little and too late to stem the surge of foreclosures that continues to roil housing and financial markets.

The number of homes entering some stage of foreclosure jumped almost 100% in the third quarter from the same time a year ago and 30% from last quarter, according to RealtyTrac, of Irvine, Calif., with a sizable jump in the number of homes completing the foreclosure process and being taken back by the bank (referred to as real-estate owned, or REO).

"We saw a fairly big spike in REO activity” in September, says Rick Sharga, vice president of marketing for RealtyTrac. "We're not done with this mess yet."
Indeed, despite all the hype about hot lines and special loan-modification programs, analysts say little has been done to help a significant number of borrowers stave off foreclosure.

"There's a lot of movement in the right direction," says Amy Schur, national campaign director for the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which has campaigned against predatory lending. "But that doesn't mean we're seeing it yet on the front lines with borrowers."

-MSN-

Likelihood of a recession is given better odds

Economic forecasters are boosting the odds of a recession over the next 12 months as the housing slump deepens and the credit crisis continues. But there is sharp disagreement over the likelihood of a contraction, with some arguing it is all but inevitable and others insisting the economy will skirt a downturn.

Economists in the latest WSJ.com survey pegged the risk of a recession at 36%, on average, up from 28% a month earlier. Fifty-five economists took part in the survey, and 52 answered the question about the likelihood of a recession. The survey was conducted after last Friday's report on August employment, which showed the first monthly jobs decline in four years.

The survey showed a divergence of views about the economic outlook, with the chances of a recession put at 5% to 90%. Eleven economists said there was at least a 50% chance. On the other end, 13 economists said the chance of recession was lower than 30%.

-Wall Street Journal