Did YOU Fall for the Mortgage Scam?
One reason you may be in debt is because your part of the country was involved in a major mortgage scam: A study of home purchases during the real estate boom years in Chicago shows how one ethically murky–and sometimes illegal–tactic used to sell homes may have contributed to the housing crash.
read more
Mysterious Billion Dollar Bet
On Thursday, an unknown entity placed a one billion dollar trade in the bond futures market that will profit if US interest rates rise. This means that a major proprietary trader almost certainly knows either that the Federal Reserve will shortly raise interest rates or that the US credit rating is going to be dropped from AAA to AA by credit rating agencies, or both. If this trader is correct, the profit realized could approach 10 to 1. If wrong, the entire billion dollars could be lost overnight.
read more
Being in Debt Makes Some People Feel BETTER
Instead of feeling stressed by the money they owe, many young adults actually feel empowered by their credit card and education debts (Whitley was lucky–a lot of his education was free!) You can’t buy happiness: This is a phrase you hear all the time (especially when you’re buying a lottery ticket), but data from 63 countries shows that it’s true: Freedom and personal autonomy are more important to people’s well-being than money.read more