Finance Blog - Everything one needs to know

Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for a third straight week, dropping to the lowest level since mid-July. Freddie Mac reported that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 6.35 percent this week from 6.40 percent last week. It marked the third consecutive decline and left rates at the lowest level since July 17, when they stood at […]

Rates on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell from last week, even as the housing market showed more signs of weakness.
Government-sponsored mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500) reported Thursday that 30-year fixed-rate mortgages averaged 6.47% this week. That’s just below the previous week, but still under the 6.52% average a year ago. […]

The slump in mortgage lending continued in July, according to the latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).
Total lending stood at £24.8bn, up by 5% from June, but still 27% lower than a year ago.
Lending to homeowners has slumped dramatically in 2008, because the credit crunch has dried up the supply of funds […]

With the weakening economy, people find they need to pay closer attention to their personal finances. As they begin to tackle their finances to get them in order, they usually come across some truths that they really don’t want to accept. The main reason is that these truths mean that the each person must take […]

The Health Blog’s never-ending tour of state health-reform efforts now pulls into New Jersey, where a bill passed this week requiring all children to have health insurance. As part of the deal, the state will expand subsidies to help poor parents insure their kids. The state’s governor is expected to sign it into law, the […]

L&T is looking at building up its financial services business and setting up a nationwide distribution network. The engineering major has appointed management consultancy firm Ernst & Young to assist it in its business plans which includes setting up of a general insurance company.
L&T is understood to be in discussions with Travelers of US for […]

As pricing controls in the general insurance sector are fully lifted in 2008, insurance regulator C S Rao tells ET that he does not foresee any drastic fall in premium rates. Mr Rao is putting the onus on the General Insurance Council (GIC), an umbrella body for general insurers, to self-regulate to fight the prospect […]