| ARMs still useful - in the right hands
In the wake of the subprime mortgage implosion, tales of homeowners going broke when their payments increase have taken on the universality of parables. At the heart of these stories lurks a seductive villain: the adjustable-rate mortgage. As the prevailing wisdom goes, the loan product lures homeowners into a legal bait and switch - dangling tantalizing teaser rates before their hungry eyes, then revealing an adjustable rate that rears up like a Loch Ness monster from serene waters and devours the homeowner whole. In this context, it's easy to regard all adjustable-rate mortgages as bad news. But the facts are far more complex. Sure, many people got adjustable-rate mortgages they didn't understand and ultimately couldn't afford. And now that the 30-year fixed rates have dropped to 5.48 percent, their lowest level in four years, and one-year ARM starter rates are at 4.99 percent, the differential is only about a half a percent.
Tens of thousands to see Winfrey, Obama
Senator Barack Obama's appearance with Oprah Winfrey at Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester on Sunday night is shaping up to be one of the biggest campaign events in New Hampshire primary history. Obama's campaign has given away all the free tickets for the 10,000-seat arena, Jen Psaki, campaign spokeswoman, said yesterday. But that's nothing compared with the crowd expected in Columbia, S.C., for a Obama-Winfrey rally Sunday morning. Yesterday, the Obama campaign announced it had moved the event from Colonial Center, which Psaki said seats about 18,000, to Williams-Brice Stadium at the University of South Carolina, which has a capacity of more than 80,000. Winfrey and Obama plan to begin their Iowa tour Saturday. LISA WANGSNESS Obama invokes JFK, issues a 'call to serve' Barack Obama paid homage yesterday to one of his political heroes, John F.
Jeff Randall's A-Z guide to 2008
A is for Abu Dhabi. Having been out-glitzed by its neighbour, Dubai, the UAE's federal capital is using vast oil wealth (10pc of the world's reserves) to buy influence at the top table. Its $7.5bn (£3.75bn) stake in Citigroup is just a start. Predictions 2008: Doom, gloom and silver liningsB is for Bust. About 130,000 people will go bankrupt this year (a 20pc increase), even though some lenders are taking a much tougher line against individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs), a diluted form of personal insolvency. C is for China. The Orient Express thunders on. Growth is again forecast to be above 10pc this year, with the country's annual trade surplus rising by 20pc to $300bn. The world's biggest "vulture fund" is ready to swoop on global roadkill. D is for Dame, a title that should be awarded to Dr Ros Altmann in recognition of her successful campaign to win compensation for 125,000 victims, whose private pensions were lost when their employers collapsed.
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