Financial Times - A perfect storm is brewing in the UK mortgage market, whipping competition among lenders to unusually ferocious levels. For one thing, rising interest rates have started at last to choke demand. Figures from the British Bankers Association

UPDATE 2-Fannie Mae discusses buying more loans; stock gains
Reuters - NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Mortgage finance company Fannie Mae has started talks with its regulator on buying more loans, a source close to the talks said on Monday, which would provide home buyers with financing at a time when lenders are choking

Reuters - NEW YORK, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Fitch Ratings on Monday said it will assume higher rates of default on U.S. residential mortgage loans when rating securities backed by those loans. The ratings agency said it is making several changes to its ResiLogic

Mortgage defaults soar by 329pc
News.com.au - AUSTRALIA’S insurance regulator has drawn attention to a spike in the number of stressed homebuyers, confirming that claims for mortgage defaults soared by 329 per cent in the year to December. Home lenders lodged claims for $210 million worth of bad

Newsday - Melville-based Vertical Lend, doing business as Mortgage Warehouse on Long Island, announced Monday that it has been bought by Belgian bank KBC. KBC has more than 11 million customers worldwide and closed its first quarter this year with more than $1

Budapest shares close down; OTP Bank bears brunt of US mortgage woes
Forbes - BUDAPEST (Thomson Financial) - Budapest shares closed lower in thin trade as troubles in the US mortgage market continued to drag on global equities with financials such as OTP Bank among the hardest hit. The BUX index of leading shares closed down 1

Don’t panic. There are easy ways to get your money to work for you.

$1 trillion question: How much to retire?
Question: My million-dollar question is: How much should I be saving each month to be sure I’ll have a comfortable retirement? My wife and I earn $145,000 a year combined and our total monthly expenses - which includes the mortgage on our home and an investment property, groceries, utilities and other living expenses - are about $6,500. Can you help me? - Asheesh Chabra, Ashburn, Va.

The political shift won’t keep me from investing in drug-sector ETFs and mutual funds.

The political shift won’t keep me from investing in drug-sector ETFs and mutual funds.

Slash Energy Bills by 20%
Alternative-energy providers supply power at cheaper rates.

Pfizer’s Stumble Shows Why It’s Better to Invest in the Sector
With pharma stocks, it’s better to buy them as a basket.

Got a raise? Where to stash extra cash
Question: I’m 38, married and I’m contributing the maximum to my 401(k) and to Roth IRAs for me and my spouse. I just received a good raise and have an extra $500 a month I would like to save. What should I do with it - prepay my 5.6 percent 15-year mortgage or put money into stocks or mutual funds? - Scott, Zeeland, Michigan

When it comes to saving for retirement, it’s natural to think you can never have too much of a good thing: The more you sock away in tax-deferred IRAs and 401(k)s the better, right? Not so fast.

Early retirement: The magic number
Question: I’d like your view on what percentage of pay I should be putting in my 401(k) for retirement. I’m currently saving 15 percent of my annual salary of $74,000 a year, and have accumulated $392,000 so far. There is no company match in my company plan, nor any pension beyond the 401(k). I have another $46,000 in mutual funds and own a home that’s worth about $320,000, although I owe about $95,000 on a home equity loan.

Here are five ways credit-card companies will pad their pockets in 2007.

Many happy (gift) returns
So, despite all those hints you dropped about what you wanted this year, you still got stuck with a rhinestone reindeer sweater and a camcorder you’ll never use.

Early Retirement: The hurry-up offense
Ten years ago, Anne and Joe Raspanti said “I do” in Hawaii. Among the things those two words changed for Joe were his plans for how, and where, he’d spend the rest of his working life.

Millionaires, luv that 401(k)
Most people move into a bigger house when they have kids.

Question: My million-dollar question is: How much should I be saving each month to be sure I’ll have a comfortable retirement? My wife and I earn $145,000 a year combined and our total monthly expenses - which includes the mortgage on our home and an investment property, groceries, utilities and other living expenses - are about $6,500. Can you help me? - Asheesh Chabra, Ashburn, Va.