A New York financial rating service has given Highlands County an "A" bond rating and classified its ability to pay off current debt as "stable." ...more

March 22, 2009

Since the subprime mortgage troubles exploded into a full-blown financial crisis last year, the three top credit-rating agencies - Moody's, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings - have faced a firestorm of criticism about whether their rosy ratings of mortgage securities generated billions of dollars in losses to investors who relied on them. ...more

December 20, 2008

The full scope of the housing meltdown isn't clear and already there are ominous signs of a new crisis, one that could shutter malls, hotels and storefronts nationwide. ...more

November 28, 2008

As Congress hashes out the details of the mortgage bailout plan, another wave of problem loans will soon come crashing down, especially in Florida. ...more

September 24, 2008

As Congress hashes out the details of the mortgage bailout plan, another wave of problem loans will soon come crashing down, especially in Florida. Nearly $100 billion worth of loans are deemed at risk for foreclosure over the next two years nationwide as borrowers with adjustable rate loans, called option-ARMs, see rates adjust, some ahead of schedule, according to a report released this month by Fitch Ratings. ...more

September 23, 2008

Homebuilders are always trying to sell their homes, but these days they have an extra incentive: beating the clock. ...more

August 27, 2008

After running Chrysler for a year, Cerberus Capital Management must be wondering if its mascot, the three-headed dog that guards the gates of hell, is protecting it from the underworld or leading it into the flames. ...more

August 6, 2008

The battered home-building industry got another dose of bad news Friday as a key bellwether of the sector's health showed new home sales and prices dipped in June, dashing hopes for a summertime housing turnaround. ...more

July 26, 2008

Credit-rating agencies are betting that the housing downturn will deepen well into next year, dragging out homebuilders' woes. ...more

June 11, 2008

Wall Street plunged Tuesday, driving the Dow Jones industrials down 370 points after investors saw an unexpected contraction in the service sector as evidence the economy is sinking into recession. It was the Dow's biggest percentage drop in almost a year. ...more

February 6, 2008