WASHINGTON - Young peoples financial know-how has gone from bad to worse.
High school seniors, on average, answered correctly only 48.3 percent of questions about personal finance and economics, according to a nationwide survey released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve. That was even lower than the 52.4 percent in the previous survey in 2006 and marked […]

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Prospective home buyers would get easier-to-understand information on mortgage terms and save an average $700 in closing costs under a proposal to be unveiled Friday by President Bush.
The proposed overhaul to a 1974 law requiring lenders to give what’s called a “good faith estimate” is aimed at making it simpler for consumers […]

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NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The credit crunch has finally hit the traditional mortgage market.
Investors are now shunning mortgage-backed securities issued by government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been critical in keeping the real estate market from completely falling apart.
Some fear this development will make it harder for people, even those with […]

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(Money Magazine) — With home values tumbling and the mortgage market still in crisis, you’d think that Billie and Rodney Wylde would shelve their plans to build their North Carolina dream home - at least until the market stabilizes.
Not a chance. The thirtysomethings are set to pour the foundation on a 2,100-square-foot farmhouse with a […]

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Everybody wants to help keep people in their houses and out of financial stress and foreclosure, right?
That’s what the Bush administration says, and that’s what top executives of major banks, mortgage companies and Wall Street investors all say.
But at the point where individual homeowners seek to refinance out of unfavorable loans or modify their mortgage […]

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A four-bedroom farmhouse in South Egremont, Mass.; a two-bedroom condo in Vail, Colo.; and a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco.

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A seemingly arcane policy change by mortgage investor Freddie Mac sheds new light on issues of much broader concern for consumers: Do you really understand where the money flows — all the nooks and crannies — when you take out a mortgage and pay thousands of dollars in fees at settlement?
Is anyone required to explain […]

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The economy is going through a rough patch, and the stock market is well below its all-time high. Mortgage rates have been dropping since the end of last year.
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