CONSUMERS who default on their post-Christmas credit-card bills could swiftly be declared bankrupt and have their homes auctioned to meet their debts as the banking sector tightens the screws.
» Debtors face loss of home - Sydney Morning Herald, December 30th 2007.
The rising economies of Asia are too small and deformed to rescue world growth as America, Britain, Australia, and Club Med face their day of debt reckoning. China may make matters worse, not better.
The seven pillars of global demand over the last year - measured by current account deficits - have been the United States ($793bn) (£388bn), Spain ($126bn), Britain ($87bn), Australian ($50bn) Italy ($48bn), Greece ($42bn), and Turkey ($34bn). Most are facing a housing bust. All are in trouble.
» Decoupling dies as half the globe hits crunch - The Telegraph (UK), 12th December 2007
AUSTRALIAN households are in good financial shape and not facing huge risks, despite debt levels reaching record highs, the central bank says.
Speaking today at the opening of the 20th Australasian Finance and Banking Conference in Sydney, Mr Battellino conceded that household debt, as a proportion of total debt, had reached unprecedented levels.
But he rejected suggestions that the current levels of total debt meant the household sector was vulnerable to global economic shocks similar to The Depression of the 1930s.
» RBA says households in good shape - The Australian, 12th December 2007.
A new openness at the Reserve Bank has revealed a board increasingly worried about the chaos in world credit markets and the outlook for the world economy.
“It’s very clear from the statement this morning that the bank is a little bit more concerned about global credit conditions and the potential impact on the Australian economy,” she said.
» RBA ‘running scared’ of global credit crisis - The ABC, 6th December 2007.
The effect of the US housing crisis on Australia is still unclear and it will all depend on how deeply America and Europe are hit, a leading Australian businessman says.
» US housing crisis on Australia ‘unclear’ - The Age, 3rd December 2007.
UK house prices tumbled in November at their sharpest rate for more than 12 years, figures from a leading mortgage lender showed yesterday, in yet another sign that higher interest rates and the credit squeeze are taking the steam out of Britain’s housing boom.
» Biggest drop in house prices for 12 years points to cooling market - The Guardian, 30th November 2007.
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Economies in Central and Eastern Europe continued to grow at a robust pace in the third quarter, but rising inflation, the global credit crunch and cooling property markets will likely lead to a slowdown in the region next year.
» Emerging European economies post robust growth; Slowdown likely in 2008 due to global credit crunch and economic imbalances - MarketWatch, 30th November 2007.