International Investing

From Mises.org:
In the United States today, there is approximately $10 trillion in outstanding mortgages, and of these, about one-quarter are subprime and Alt-A loans…Individuals who access such loans often pay a below-market interest rate, or an interest-only mortgage payment, for the first few years of the mortgage. But after that, mortgage payments are adjusted to [...]

The LA Times describes a home owner using this toxic waste:
One of his options is to pay $2,513 a month. That would cover the principal and interest as if it were a traditional 30-year loan.
A second possibility is to pay $2,279, which would cover only the interest.
But each month he always takes the cheapest option: [...]

Its only Tuesday, but I’m comfortable declaring this to be the chart of the week. From Forbes:

Christopher Cagan of First American Real Estate Solutions calculated what fraction of homeowners who closed mortgages in the first nine months of 2005 were sitting, as of February, on zero or negative equity: 29%. He also calculated that a [...]

LA Times article on the sharp increase in foreclosure notices:
Foreclosures also can weaken housing values further as lenders put the foreclosed homes on the market, often at reduced prices in hopes of a quick sale.
A firesale next door, that’s going to make the comps look awful.
Just Wednesday morning, Zhang dealt with a Lancaster resident who [...]

Bloomberg speculates that the “frenzy” in Singapore’s housing market could have painful consequences, “…if the excesses continue unabated, a collapse may occur, perhaps as early as next year.”

As you can see from this chart Singapore’s market doesn’t have anywhere near the froth of other markets world wide, so why the worry? There are reasons has [...]