Muara Teweh!

MUMBAI: The country’s largest mortgage finance company, HDFC, may reduce lending rates if the central bank does not tighten rates or resort to a monetary squeeze by hiking the cash reserve ratio (CRR). The company has already seen a decline in borrowing costs in July and is waiting to see whether the decline in rates will be sustained before reducing lending rates.

Although interest rates have gone up during the first quarter of 2006-07, liquidity generated by forex inflows has helped bring down rates in the money markets. Towards July, interest rates have eased and borrowing costs have come down for institutional borrowers. Some banks, which had hiked their lending rates in the fourth quarter of last year, said they would bring down home loan rates.

“We have seen a reduction in borrowing costs in July. If the decline in rates is sustained, we » Read more after the jump →

By Eve Mitchell
MEDIANEWS STAFF

Thinking about refinancing a mortgage or getting a no-money-down loan to buy a home? Something that was relatively easy to do several months ago may be a lot harder in today’s stricter lending environment.

In recent months, many lenders have tightened underwriting standards for no-money-down loans, also known as 100 percent financing, in response to the subprime mortgage mess that has seen foreclosure activity soar this year.

The upshot is that today many borrowers are finding it harder to get a loan than a few months ago even though interest rates are at the same level as last year. To qualify, borrowers may find that they will need to document their income, bolster their savings or find a co-signer. » Read more after the jump →

With monthly payments rising for homeowners with adjustable-rate mortgages, more Santa Clara County borrowers defaulted on their loans in the second quarter than any time in the past 14 years, a real estate information firm reported Tuesday.

A total of 1,275 default notices were sent to Santa Clara County homeowners in the second quarter, up 20.5 percent from the first quarter of 2007, and 140.6 percent from the April-to-June period in 2006, according to DataQuick Information Systems. The county mirrored a trend in which defaults spiked statewide to an 11-year high, climbing 158 percent from a year earlier.

However, Santa Clara County’s homeowners are among the least likely state wide to be in default, DataQuick said. Only homeowners in Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties are less likely to be in default than Santa Clara County owners. » Read more after the jump →

The good news is that Americans are living longer. But the bad news is that a longer life span translates into Americans needing more money than ever to live out their retirement.

And that is the problem for many seniors wanting to stay in their homes rather than having to sell to access the cash locked in their property. Until recently, reverse mortgages were not available to co-op owners in New Jersey, but now one lender has created a proprietary product that can be applied to co-ops as well as other types of dwellings, such as single family homes and condos.

The reverse mortgage addresses the dilemma faced by people rich with real estate but poor in cash by turning the equity in a senior’s home into available cash that requires no monthly payments, nor does it have to be repaid until the owner sells, leaves the home permanently or dies. No income is needed to qualify, either. The only requirement to be eligible for a reverse » Read more after the jump →

audi Arabian soccer authorities urged Saudi revelers not to celebrate in the kingdom’s streets if Saudi Arabia wins the Asian Cup final on Sunday against Iraq.

Saudi Arabia’s soccer federation chief, Prince Sultan bin Fahd, called on Saudis not to perform any kind of celebration in the Kingdom’s streets. He said that, if the Saudi team wins, the fans should join festivities to be held in the cities’ stadiums. » Read more after the jump →

Exit polls said that Abe’s Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled Japan almost continuously since 1955, was set to suffer one of the worst drubbings in its history, meaning a rocky road ahead for the hawkish premier’s agenda.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government suffered a crushing defeat in upper house elections Sunday but the conservative leader insisted he would stay in power.

Abe assumed power last year on a mission to build a nation prouder of its past, but he has come under fire over a raft of scandals including a government agency’s mismanagement of the pension system.

Abe’s coalition looked on course to lose around half of the seats it was defending in the upper house of parliament, exit polls said. If confirmed, the house would come under opposition control. » Read more after the jump →

Businesses’ role in providing health insurance coverage to employees was explored by industry experts Friday at the annual Dorsey Hughes Symposium at the Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort.

With health care premiums rising 87 percent since 2000, according to one statistic, panelists questioned whether the old model of employer-sponsored coverage still works.

“At one point, it made sense for employers and insurance to go hand in hand,” said Brian Vogt, former director of Colorado’s Office of Economic Development & International Trade and now CEO of the Denver Botanic Gardens. “It made sense when employers were stable and employees by and large had careers, but all of that has changed.”

Vogt helped craft a health care reform proposal for the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce, which he headed for many years. » Read more after the jump →