Word: loaning
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...seeping. There are cracks on Main Street, but whether or not you see them largely depends on where you stand. Just ask anyone who wants to buy a house with a subprime mortgage - they're not all evil, but these days they are exceedingly rare - or with a jumbo loan, which now carries an average rate 1.2 percentage points above a regular mortgage. (In normal times, the spread is closer to a quarter of a percentage point.) "Some people are saying, 'Credit crunch, what credit crunch?' and others are ready to cry uncle," says Greg McBride, a senior financial analyst...
...loans, the division between those who feel the crunch and those who don't often comes down to credit score. The average 60-month new car loan is priced at 7.10%, not much different than in the spring, according to HSH Associates, Financial Publishers - and the average rate on a 60-month used car loan, 7.54%, has actually been drifting downward. (Those 0% financing deals still exist, too, from struggling car companies desperate to move inventory.) The difference is, you're probably not going to get that rate (or any at all) unless your FICO score is north...
...mood at banks more generally is cautious. The most recent Federal Reserve survey of loan officers showed a plurality of banks tightening credit standards across the board. Add in anecdotal evidence - like Bank of America declining to increase lending to McDonald's franchisees even though the two companies have a long-standing partnership - and things do seem to be cascading down to Main Street, or whatever road is home to your local fast food joint. In August, 67% of small-business owners said they'd been affected by the credit crunch, compared with 55% in February, according to surveys...
...sector.Following a year-long slump, financial markets have nose-dived in recent weeks as a series of financial shocks have hit Wall Street, including the failure of Lehman Brothers, the government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the largest government bailout to date, an $85-billion loan to the American Insurance Group, and most recently, the failure Washington Mutual and its subsequent takeover by federal officials in the largest bank failure in U.S. history. Amid concern that the crisis could prompt a severe recession if left unchecked, Congress is preparing to pass an unprecedented $700 billion bailout...
...House Democrats are not certain about such a hybrid approach and would prefer to offer insurance as just one of several tools open to Paulson, but not mandate that he use it. "I do not see why the secretary cannot accept some of those (insurance and/or loan provisions) among the options he has to choose from," Pelosi said. Congressional officials believe they have until Monday morning to come up with a package. Congress is preparing to work into the weekend with the aim of passing something by the end of Sunday, or at least having the deal locked down...