Pending Home Resales Drop to Record Lows

Sales pace falls way short of 330K expected

(AP) - Sales of new US homes dropped sharply last month to the slowest pace on record, the latest sign that the economic recovery is fading. The Commerce Department says new home sales fell 12.4% in July from a month earlier to a seasonally adjusted annual sales pace of 276,600. That was the slowest pace on records dating back to 1963. More»

ARM holders will see payments soar as their mortgages reset

(NEWSER) - America’s subprime victims may have grudgingly accepted their fate, but there’s a new class of borrowers primed to suffer, BusinessWeek reports. Homeowners who took out ARMs, or adjustable rate mortgages, will soon face skyrocketing payments as their loans reset. About a million people have the mortgages, but only a small number have already fallen due. “It's a ticking time bomb inside your house that you can't get rid of,” one insider said. More»

Says central bank 'will act as needed' to further minimize economic risks

(NEWSER) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke today said that the board stands ready to cut interest rates again to give the economy "adequate insurance against downside risks," reports the Wall Street Journal. The move, which follows 2.25% in cuts to the key rate since September, is widely expected at the Fed's March 18 meeting. More»

Dow Jones drops another 3% as economic data puts black cloud over Wall Street

(NEWSER) - Signs the housing market black hole was worsening and pulling down the rest of the economy spurred the DJIA to slide another 3% yesterday as investors decided a federal rescue plan was too late to help, reports the New York Times. Even reassuring words from Fed Chair Ben Bernanke that the economy was “extraordinarily resilient,” did little to ease concerns. More»

(NEWSER) - In the face of dismal August numbers, sales of new homes in September increased 4.8%, driven by demand in the western US, the Wall Street Journal reports. Despite the unexpected bump, the updated August figures, which reflect an 11-year low, are fueling worries the economy will remain pinned under the weight of the sagging housing market. More»