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Shoppers Can't Halt Commercial Mortgage Crisis

Retailers will default, no matter how many sweaters you buy today

By the Associated Press

Posted Nov 28, 2008 9:02 AM CST

(AP) – Black Friday shoppers hunting for holiday bargains won't be enough to stave off what's likely to become the next economic crisis. Malls from Michigan to Georgia are entering foreclosure, commercial victims of the same events poisoning the housing market. Hotels in Tucson, Ariz., and Hilton Head, SC, also are about to default on their mortgages.

That pace is expected to quicken. The number of late payments and defaults will double, if not triple, by the end of next year, according to analysts from Fitch Ratings Ltd, which evaluates companies' credit. "We're probably in the first inning of the commercial mortgage problem," said a New Jersey real estate lawyer.

Shoppers, who had snapped their wallets shut since September, flocked to stores and malls before dawn Friday to grab deals on everything from TVs to toys, as at this Target in Ohio.
Shoppers, who had snapped their wallets shut since September, flocked to stores and malls before dawn Friday to grab deals on everything from TVs to toys, as at this Target in Ohio.   (AP Photo/Amy Sancetta)
Cars move past Toys R Us in Times Square which opened at 5am Friday, Nov. 28, 2008. The nation's retailers are set to usher in the holiday shopping season today with pre-dawn openings.
Cars move past Toys R Us in Times Square which opened at 5am Friday, Nov. 28, 2008. The nation's retailers are set to usher in the holiday shopping season today with pre-dawn openings.   (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
The Vanity Fair Outlet stores opened at 12:01am for Black Friday sales has shoppers seeking bargains and discounts Nov. 28, 2008 in Reading, Pa.
The Vanity Fair Outlet stores opened at 12:01am for Black Friday sales has shoppers seeking bargains and discounts Nov. 28, 2008 in Reading, Pa.   (BRADLEY C BOWER)
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Copyright 2012 Newser, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. AP contributed to this report.

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