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Mark Gerhard’s heart sank when he discovered Washington Mutual had slashed the available credit on his home equity line this summer from $160,000 to just $20,000.
The artist, who lives near San Francisco, had been counting on the credit line to help pay tuition when his son starts at the University […]

The Japanese yen has had a nice run in recent weeks, both as a flight from risk and as an alternative to the U.S. dollar as U.S. interest rates have continued to fall.
But the more the yen rises, the less competitive major Japanese companies like Sony (SNE, news, msgs), Toyota (TM, news, msgs) and Panasonic […]

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If only someone would take Tracie Tyler’s money.
It’s been nearly six months since anyone has accepted her rent, or a check from any of the other tenants at the Boston triple-decker, which was foreclosed on last summer.
“We don’t want to stay here and not pay anything,” Tyler says. But […]

Find a new home or apartment
Bob and Mary Keenan need a break on their mortgage. A series of reversals has left them strapped and incapable of paying all their bills, the largest of which is the loan on their newly built home.
Mortgage workout programs are all over the news and sound like nirvana to financially […]

If you’re having trouble making your mortgage payments and wonder whether you’d qualify for a loan workout, take this quiz to handicap your chances of getting a deal. Respond to each statement with “yes” or “no”:

My monthly expenses exceed my income.
My mortgage payment exceeds 38% of my gross income.
I couldn’t sell my house […]