| Squaring the circle over Fed’s stance on cuts
Information in the minutes of the last Federal Reserve meeting and the new economic projections by the US central bank provide ammunition for both sides in the rate-cut debate. On the one hand the minutes devoted greater attention to the risks to growth than the risks to inflation – unlike the statement issued after the meeting, which declared that the risks were “roughly balanced" following the rate cut. On the other, the economic projections revealed that the Fed has a low assessment of the potential growth rate of the US economy – a view that would make it less inclined to cut interest rates when growth is sluggish for fear of igniting inflation. The discussion in the minutes is hard to square with the notion that the central bank sees the growth and inflation risks as completely balanced.
Losing our homes
Last year, 4,522 new foreclosure lawsuits were filed in Common Pleas Court and sheriff's deputies handled 227 foreclosure evictions. Charmaine and Archie allowed the Beacon Journal to follow them the week before they were evicted. Perhaps, they said, people can learn something helpful from their story, or at least realize they aren't alone. Buying first home Charmaine and Archie met nearly 20 years ago. She was a cashier at a grocery store and a North High School grad. He was a customer with an eye on her. He survived on federal Supplemental Security Income. He also did odd jobs for extra Please see Family, A12 money. ''Like you men do, you check people out,'' Charmaine said. ''He didn't have the nerve, so he had one of his sisters come in and ask me out.
What is happening to mortgages?
Some banks have also been nudging up their variable tracker rates, pushing them well above the official Bank Rate. Another influential website, Moneyfacts.co.uk, says a string of banks have slashed the amount they will lend against the value of the property - the percentage, known as loan-to-value (LTV), is being reduced to only 90%, or in some cases 75%, of the property. So is it getting harder to get a good mortgage deal? The short answer is yes, but it depends on who you are. Banks have increased their margins generally, by hiking their interest rates and the cost of arrangement fees during the past six months. For example, Moneyfacts says the cost of the average arrangement fee has jumed from £634 in November 2006 to £827. Lenders are cunning, of course.
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