Business/Econ

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http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/23/business/23speed.html?_r=1&ref=business&oref=slogin

So this article is about a company that TARGETED people with bad credit or credit problems to offer loans to. Brilliant and evil, all in one.

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The Consumerist (http://consumerist.com/consumer/mortgages/foreclosure-spike-due-to-natural-economic-forces-not-risky-lending-248068.php) Had a related article (that also linked to NYT) that I thought would be prudent to share...

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more linky goodness (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aVXFG8f01LHw&refer=us) from the Consumerist.

It evokes an interesting question: will the next "great depression" be a result of the crushing debt that most americans now feel?


From article:
"There'll be more of a focus on necessities like food,'' said Howard Davidowitz, chairman of New York-based retail consulting firm Davidowitz & Associates. "People are going to be squeezed.''

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Based on [url=http://consumerist.com/consumer/subprime/there-goes-the-housing-market-home-sales-experience-worst-drop-in-18-years-254962.php]this[/url story, I'd say that it's a better time than ever to be a debt-free soon-to-be-homeowner. And the market is only getting better (for buyers).

But as I said earlier - the whole idea behind a sub-prime loan seems to simply flag the road leading to this exact scenario. Seriously, making a business of loaning money to people who are bad at borrowing money? Sounds like the scam of a century.