Economic fears give Obama a clear lead in poll
Survey gives Democrat a 9-point edge over McCain among likely voters
By Dan Balz and Jon Cohen - Washington Post
Turmoil in the financial industry and growing pessimism about the economy have altered the shape of the presidential race, giving Democratic nominee Barack Obama the first clear lead of the general-election campaign over Republican John McCain, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News national poll.
Just 9 percent of those surveyed rated the economy as good or excellent, the first time that number has been in single digits since the days just before the 1992 election. Just 14 percent said the country is heading in the right direction, equaling the record low on that question in polls dating back to 1973.
More voters trust Obama to deal with the economy, and he currently has a big edge as the candidate who is more in tune with the economic problems Americans now face. He also has a double-digit advantage on handling the current problems on Wall Street, and as a result, there has been a rise in his overall support. The poll found that, among likely voters, Obama now leads McCain by 52 percent to 43 percent. Two weeks ago, in the days immediately following the Republican National Convention, the race was essentially even, with McCain at 49 percent and Obama at 47 percent.
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Economic fears give Obama a clear lead in poll
Showing posts with label financial meltdown. Show all posts
Showing posts with label financial meltdown. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
5 days to first debate, Obama climbs in polls
5 days to first debate, Obama climbs in polls
His rise comes amid a $700 billion bailout plan to save the U.S. economy
Associated Press - September 20, 2008
WASHINGTON - Five days from their first presidential debate, Democrat Barack Obama has climbed in the polls as Republican John McCain fumbled his response to a looming U.S. economic cataclysm — one that threatened to match the financial catastrophe of the 1930s Great Depression.
The U.S. Congress and the administration of President George W. Bush were grappling with a proposed $700 billion bailout plan to save the U.S. economy from full collapse, feeding anxiety among voters who already were far more concerned about their financial futures than any other issue in the 2008 presidential campaign — including the intractable U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After withholding his response while the Bush administration put together its program, Obama on Sunday placed seven conditions on the rescue proposal which he said came with a "staggering price tag" but no plan to guarantee the "basic principles of transparency, fairness, and reform" to taxpayers who will pay for the huge bailout.
Read the rest of the story:
5 days to first debate, Obama climbs in polls
His rise comes amid a $700 billion bailout plan to save the U.S. economy
Associated Press - September 20, 2008
WASHINGTON - Five days from their first presidential debate, Democrat Barack Obama has climbed in the polls as Republican John McCain fumbled his response to a looming U.S. economic cataclysm — one that threatened to match the financial catastrophe of the 1930s Great Depression.
The U.S. Congress and the administration of President George W. Bush were grappling with a proposed $700 billion bailout plan to save the U.S. economy from full collapse, feeding anxiety among voters who already were far more concerned about their financial futures than any other issue in the 2008 presidential campaign — including the intractable U.S.-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
After withholding his response while the Bush administration put together its program, Obama on Sunday placed seven conditions on the rescue proposal which he said came with a "staggering price tag" but no plan to guarantee the "basic principles of transparency, fairness, and reform" to taxpayers who will pay for the huge bailout.
Read the rest of the story:
5 days to first debate, Obama climbs in polls
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Are Fixed-Rate Loans About To Vanish?
Are Fixed-Rate Loans About To Vanish?
Realty Trac - September 18, 2008
Peter G. Miller
For decades the surest and safest mortgage has been the quiet and dull fixed-rate loan. With fixed-rate loans the monthly payment for principal and interest never changes, the interest rate stays the same, the loan balance declines every month and the threat of payment shock is non-existent. The biggest choice faced by fixed-rate borrowers is 30 years or 15.
Given the mortgage calamities seen during the past year it might seem logical that lenders would be pushing fixed-rate mortgages, but the good things which make such loans safe and secure for borrowers are increasingly unattractive to mortgage investors, the people who actually buy loans. The result is that fixed-rate mortgages are about to become increasingly rare even for the best borrowers.
The Good Old Days
One of the first homes I bought was financed in a way that would make TV real estate wizards proud: I assumed a 6 percent mortgage and the seller took back a second loan at the same rate for much of the rest of the purchase price.
This was long, long ago and each month I went to the local bank and made my payment on the first mortgage. The teller would mark my passbook by hand and as corny as it seems I actually looked forward to my monthly trips to the bank and the gradual reduction of my debt.
The problem was that with every payment the lender lost money.
The lender, I have no doubt, hated me. Nothing personal, merely a reflection of the reality that while I was paying 6 percent the very same lender was making mortgage loans in the late 1970s and early 1980s at 12, 13 and 14 percent.
My lender was financing long-term mortgages such as mine with short-term borrowing. The interest rates paid by the lender were higher than my loan rate, so the lender was losing money with every payment I made.
“Today lenders have gotten smarter,” says James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer at RealtyTrac.com, the nation’s best known source of foreclosure data and listings. “Freely-assumable loans don’t exist and the companies we see as ‘lenders’ are most-often mortgage retailers, companies without a vault, deposits or cash of their own. For the past few years the game has been to originate loans, sell them as quickly as possible, and then use the cash from the sale of one loan to finance the next.
“While the system of selling loans has been good in the sense of adding liquidity to the marketplace,” said Sacaccio, “ultimately it’s unchanged from the days of passbook loans: In the end there’s an investor putting up the cash for a mortgage and that investor does not want to take a loss.”
Read the whole story here:
Are Fixed-Rate Loans About To Vanish?
Realty Trac - September 18, 2008
Peter G. Miller
For decades the surest and safest mortgage has been the quiet and dull fixed-rate loan. With fixed-rate loans the monthly payment for principal and interest never changes, the interest rate stays the same, the loan balance declines every month and the threat of payment shock is non-existent. The biggest choice faced by fixed-rate borrowers is 30 years or 15.
Given the mortgage calamities seen during the past year it might seem logical that lenders would be pushing fixed-rate mortgages, but the good things which make such loans safe and secure for borrowers are increasingly unattractive to mortgage investors, the people who actually buy loans. The result is that fixed-rate mortgages are about to become increasingly rare even for the best borrowers.
The Good Old Days
One of the first homes I bought was financed in a way that would make TV real estate wizards proud: I assumed a 6 percent mortgage and the seller took back a second loan at the same rate for much of the rest of the purchase price.
This was long, long ago and each month I went to the local bank and made my payment on the first mortgage. The teller would mark my passbook by hand and as corny as it seems I actually looked forward to my monthly trips to the bank and the gradual reduction of my debt.
The problem was that with every payment the lender lost money.
The lender, I have no doubt, hated me. Nothing personal, merely a reflection of the reality that while I was paying 6 percent the very same lender was making mortgage loans in the late 1970s and early 1980s at 12, 13 and 14 percent.
My lender was financing long-term mortgages such as mine with short-term borrowing. The interest rates paid by the lender were higher than my loan rate, so the lender was losing money with every payment I made.
“Today lenders have gotten smarter,” says James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer at RealtyTrac.com, the nation’s best known source of foreclosure data and listings. “Freely-assumable loans don’t exist and the companies we see as ‘lenders’ are most-often mortgage retailers, companies without a vault, deposits or cash of their own. For the past few years the game has been to originate loans, sell them as quickly as possible, and then use the cash from the sale of one loan to finance the next.
“While the system of selling loans has been good in the sense of adding liquidity to the marketplace,” said Sacaccio, “ultimately it’s unchanged from the days of passbook loans: In the end there’s an investor putting up the cash for a mortgage and that investor does not want to take a loss.”
Read the whole story here:
Are Fixed-Rate Loans About To Vanish?
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
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