The subprime disaster is now getting foundations to help out, along with a lot of financial institutions. California mortgage counseling agencies will get $4.6 million for advising distressed homeowners, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. California expects to see 500,000 homeowners struggle to keep their houses over the next two years. And I am sure the contributing financial banks and companies listed below will be sweating this out to the end.

The grants will be given out over the next two years. The coalition expects to add 46 new mortgage counselors to the 300 already working in the state. The $4.6-million was pledged by Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Wachovia Bank, Comerica Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Countrywide Financial, Citibank, Bank of America, the San Francisco Foundation and the California Community Foundation.

Subprime lending is the practice of making loans to borrowers who do not qualify for the best market interest rates because of their deficient credit history. Subprime lending is highly controversial because it is alleged that the subprime lending companies engage in predatory lending practices such as deliberately lending to borrowers who could never meet the terms of their loans, thus leading to default, seizure of collateral, and foreclosure.

If someone cannot afford something, then why sell it to them? Answer, greed.

Labels: Greed, Sub-Prime Mortgages

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The soaring price of gold is causing mining companies in South Africa to sink to astonishing depths. Gold Fields plans to drill to 2.5 miles (13,200 feet) at a mine outside Johannesburg, and that would be a record, reports National Geographic News. Other companies are not far below (or, above) that mark. But the deepest mine in the United States reaches just 8,000 feet.

Gold is never a good investment. You need to do all your investing based on the long term,five, 10 and twenty year track records. Gold, any way you analyze it, has a horrible twenty year track record. It is a high risk investment and it is a risk you should not take with your money

One dollar invested in bonds in 1801 would yield $13,975 today.
One dollar invested in stocks in 1801 would be worth $8.8 million today.
One dollar invested in gold in 1801 would be worth $14 today.

Labels: Gold, Greed, investing

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