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Tuesday, March 25, 2008
DAILY FISCAL POLICY REPORT -- Mar. 25, 2008
Housing -- Home Prices Down 10.7% in 12 Mos.: A glut of foreclosed homes of historic proportions is starting to drive down U.S. home prices faster as lenders put more properties on the market and buyers show signs of interest. The value of single-family homes plummeted 10.7 percent in January compared to a year previous, per a closely watched survey of 20 major metropolitan regions. Story.
Economy -- Are Student Loans Next?: Several lenders are backing out of the federal student loan program, the result of the credit crunch and government subsidy cuts that have made the business of lending to students increasingly unprofitable. The void that the lenders have left already accounts for almost 10% of the total estimated student loans needed this year. Story.
Social Security -- CMS Report Out Today:"It's the wonks' version of the Cherry Blossom Festival: the release of the annual Social Security trustees' report showing the fiscal health of our nation's biggest social program." For the Trustees' long-range projections in dollars of the operations of the combined Social Security and Disability Trust Funds from the 2007 report, click here.
Posted by Dana Chasin
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