Monday March 5 Housing and Economic stories

KeNosHousingPortal.blogspot.com

TOP STORIES:

Student Loans Near $1 Trillion Hurt Young Buyers - (www.bloomberg.com) Roshell Schenck has a PhD in pharmacy and earns $125,000 a year, yet can’t qualify for a mortgage for a house for herself and her 9-year-old daughter. The 2008 graduate of Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, in Erie, Pennsylvania, has more than $110,000 in student debt. “I’d love to buy and can afford to buy,” said Schenck, 28. Since lenders place closer scrutiny on college loans than in prior years, she says, “it’s almost impossible for me to get a loan. My debt is crushing my chances of purchasing a home.” As outstanding student debt approaches $1 trillion, it’s one more reason record-low interest rates aren’t doing more to boost housing. The tighter lending standards that have emerged in the wake of the recession weigh particularly on younger, first-time home buyers, according to a Federal Reserve study sent to Congress on Jan. 4.

For London Youth, Down and Out Is Way of Life - (www.nytimes.com) For almost two years, Nicki Edwards has been looking for work — any type of work. She is 19 years old, well-spoken and self-possessed. But like many young people in Britain, she could not afford to remain at her university, making it impossible to find a job. London’s youth riots last summer have closed even more doors to people like her. “If you are not working, in training or in college, you might as well be a thief — employers just do not take you seriously,” Ms. Edwards said. “At some point, you just say, ‘I’m stuck and I will never find a job.’ ”

The Real Reason The Rest of Europe Is Just Torturing Greece Now - (www.businessinsider.com) The latest buzz from Europe is that in order for Greece to get a bailout, the leader of the super-right LAOS party will need to sign a letter saying he endorses the latest reform plan. This is kind of absurd, since that party is fringey, and unlikely to have much influence. Regardless, despite the fat that it's economy is getting blown to bits, Greece is being told endlessly that it's not doing enough on the austerity front. In a post last night, economist Tyler Cowen asked: "Is the goal simply to irritate the Greeks so much that they leave the Eurozone on their own?" Here's what might be going on.

Europe Struggles to Bridge Greek Divide in Forging Rescue - (www.bloomberg.com) Europe’s creditor countries struggled to bridge divisions over a rescue of Greece, seeking more control over how future aid is spent as the clock ticked toward a possible default next month. Stocks and the euro fell. In a replay of the brinkmanship that marked the early stages of the Greek crisis two years ago, euro-area finance ministers extracted concessions from political leaders in Athens intended to pave the way for the endorsement of a 130 billion- euro ($171 billion) aid package next week.

Allen Iverson Is Broke Despite Making More Than $150 Million During His Career - (www.businessinsider.com) Iverson once made $7 million per season just on his shoe deal. The last we heard from Allen Iverson, he was coming back to the United States in hopes of an NBA comeback. This was after a short stint playing professional basketball in Turkey, amidst speculation that Iverson took the $4 million payday because he was broke. That now appears to be confirmed. According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Iverson is having trouble paying his bills...

OTHER STORIES:

Greek conservative takes bailout pledge to the wire - (www.reuters.com)

Fed Considers Policy Changes After Repo Reform Effort Falls Short of Goals - (www.bloomberg.com)

Euro-Area Economy Contracts for the First Time Since 2009 - (www.bloomberg.com)

Germany Beats Fourth-Quarter Forecast, French Economy Grows - (www.bloomberg.com)

Wen Says China Ready to Be More ‘Deeply’ Involved in Solution for Europe - (www.bloomberg.com)

King Says Euro Debt Crisis Remains Biggest Threat to Sluggish U.K. Economy - (www.bloomberg.com)

North and south split as euro zone economy shrinks - (www.reuters.com)

Factories Churning Out More Products Help Kindle U.S. Expansion: Economy - (www.bloomberg.com)

Apple Overtakes Samsung to Become Biggest Smartphone Vendor - (www.bloomberg.com)