Consumer Debt News

A guide to the help available to those struggling to pay their fuel bills this winter.
Read the Full Story Here: Battling bills - what help is there?

Rates on 30-year mortgages were pushed up this week above 6 percent amid growing concerns about inflation, mortgage backer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Read the Full Story Here: Mortgage rates rise, topping 6%

Sen. Barack Obama on Tuesday rolled out ideas he said will help stabilize the U.S. housing market, while saying President Bush’s response was “too little, too late.”
Read the Full Story Here: Obama: McCain ‘out of touch’ on housing woes

Northwest Airlines promises Dave Herstad 18,375 frequent flier miles when he applies for his mortgage. He gets the loan, but not the miles. After several rounds of finger-pointing between supervisors at Northwest, Lending Tree and Home Loan Center, his miles remain missing. What should he do?
Read the Full Story Here: A mileage mess with my [...]

Miami bankruptcy judge is scheduled today to hear a request to place E.S. Bankest, the factoring company whose collapse cost investors $190 million, on a fast track to liquidation. The request, initiated by the West Palm Beach-based law firm Gunster …
Read the Full Story Here: E.S. Bankest trustee faces ouster if judge hastens liquidation of [...]

Congress moved a big step closer Tuesday to expanding government efforts to help at-risk homeowners.
Read the Full Story Here: Mortgage rescue advances in Senate

Senate Banking Committee leaders said Monday that they have come to a deal on a housing bill that would prevent foreclosures, create affordable housing and revamp oversight of two of the mortgage market’s biggest players: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Read the Full Story Here: Senate deal struck on mortgage aid

On Capitol Hill this week, lawmakers are set to continue to grapple with the best response to the rising tide of home foreclosures. But the Bush administration says it has a solution in place: A nine-month old mortgage refinancing program run by the Federal Housing Administration.
Read the Full Story Here: Need a new mortgage? Call [...]

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is talking tough, but don’t expect Washington to bring Fannie Mae to heel till the housing crisis eases.
Read the Full Story Here: Fannie’s new watchdog

Key lawmakers spent Thursday trying to broker a deal on a bill that would allow the government to insure up to $300 billion of home loans and overhaul oversight of key players in the mortgage industry.
Read the Full Story Here: Elusive housing bill inches forward

Rates on 30-year mortgages eased this week, but remained above 6%, as signs that the overall economy is recovering helped offset ongoing weakness in the housing market, mortgage backer Freddie Mac said Thursday.
Read the Full Story Here: Mortgage rates decline slightly

Freddie Mac is the latest beneficiary of wishful thinking about the housing market.
Read the Full Story Here: Wishful thinking about Freddie Mac

As many as 1 million borrowers from Sallie Mae, the nation’s largest student lender, may have seen their credit score plunge overnight after a coding error made some student loan repayments appear delinquent.
Read the Full Story Here: Sallie Mae snafu causes credit scores to sink

Politicians in Washington are busy arguing about the financial and moral hazards of coming to the aid of troubled homeowners.
Read the Full Story Here: Mortgage in trouble? How Congress wants to help

These days, more and more people are saying “Charge it.”
Read the Full Story Here: Barely surviving on credit cards