Turn on the home-equity tap again
15.12.09
The home-equity line of credit fueled thousands of extreme kitchen makeovers during the real estate boom. But the housing bust and the credit crisis stopped the HELOC party with a vengeance: Tens of thousands of homeowners had their lines cut or frozen, and most lenders stopped issuing new ones altogether.
Read full story for latest details. The final topline price of the economic recovery package: $787 billion. That's below both the $820 billion House-passed version and the $838 billion Senate-passed version.
Home price declines have sent affordability soaring. Prices have fallen so far that the average U.S. home is now undervalued by 12.2%, according to a new report from IHS Global Insight.
Mortgage rates fell over the past week, benefiting from the Federal Reserve's pledge to take all necessary action to stimulate the economy. So much for change you can believe in.
Read full story for latest details.
Three regional banks were closed Friday, bringing the total number of failed banks this month to six, as the financial crisis continues to take a toll on small banks nationwide.
The Internal Revenue Service should take steps to ease the burden on taxpayers hit by the recession, according to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson. Citigroup could soon agree to principles that would let troubled borrowers save their homes through bankruptcy, sources familiar with the talks said Thursday, while industry groups are easing their opposition to the plan.
It's starting to look like the spring awakening in bank stocks may not be enough to save the CEOs of America's biggest troubled banks, Citigroup's Vikram Pandit and Bank of America's Ken Lewis.
President Obama's Cash for Caulkers proposal has almost every homeowner wondering how they'll be able to cash in.
Read full story for latest details.
The real estate market is so awful that buyers are now scooping up homes for as little as $1,000. As the author of such business classics as "Built to Last" and "Good to Great," management guru Jim Collins has made a career out of understanding why companies succeed. Yet for the past several years he's been deep at work with partner Morten Hansen on how companies manage to negotiate through turbulent times. It was a prescient choice, deeply relevant to today's environment, and a likely topic of a future book. Collins recently sat down with Fortune senior writer Jennifer Reingold to share some of what he's learned to far. Excerpts:
Four banks folded Friday, bringing the total number of banks to fail this year to 13.
Playing the China boom
15.12.09
It happens every weekday: A group of ladies gathers at the cavernous, badly lit stock-brokerage office on Shanghai's Xiangyang Lu in what was once, when China was colonized by European powers last century, known as the French Concession. There are usually at least four, and sometimes as many as eight.
With ads off the air, Tiger takes leave from golf
15.12.09
Tiger Woods is all over the TV, but his ads haven't been.
Get your 401(k) above pre-crash levels
15.12.09
With stocks up more than 60% since hitting bottom last March, the red ink is finally fading on the typical 401(k) account.
Box sponsorowany
Usługi zwi±zane z szeroko rozumian± reklam± w internecie pozycjonowanie Kraków , tworzenie stron www, tworzenie sklepów, indentyfikacja wizualna.
Want to create jobs? Import entrepreneurs
15.12.09
A five-foot robot sits in Jon Wheatley's chair during most U.S. investor presentations, listening, speaking, and watching the meeting as Wheatley maneuvers it from a laptop in London. The shtick draws attention to Wheatley and his company, social media Web site DailyBooth.com, but the robot (provided by one of his investors) serves a purpose: Wheatley cannot set foot in the United States.
High court rejects challenge to Chrysler's sale
15.12.09
The Supreme Court again Monday turned away the latest challenge to Chrysler's bankruptcy and sale to Italian automaker Fiat.
Housing outlook for 2010
15.12.09
In a dour year for the economy, the housing market has offered some glimmers of hope. Home sales have improved, recently hitting their highest level in more than two years. There's been talk of bidding wars resuming in places like Silicon Valley and New York City. And cocktail party chatter everywhere has started to turn to talk of a bottom. So at least where housing's concerned, things are looking not so bad -- right?
Chrysler, GM dealers ready to fight for resurrection
15.12.09
As Chrysler and General Motors get ready to sit down and talk with owners of some of the nearly 2,000 dealerships given death sentences, dealers are rolling up their sleeves and preparing to fight for their businesses' lives.
Exxon to buy XTO in $41 billion deal
15.12.09
Exxon Mobil said Monday it will buy natural gas producer XTO Energy Inc. for $41 billion in a stock and debt transaction.
Turn on the home-equity tap again
15.12.09
The home-equity line of credit fueled thousands of extreme kitchen makeovers during the real estate boom. But the housing bust and the credit crisis stopped the HELOC party with a vengeance: Tens of thousands of homeowners had their lines cut or frozen, and most lenders stopped issuing new ones altogether.