Ha’aretz—Israel:Introducing the world’s strongest currency: The shekel

Since the beginning of 2008 the shekel has made some serious gains against nearly all the major world currencies. The shekel has gained 15% against the dollar, slightly more against the British pound and the Canadian dollar, as well as 8% versus the Swedish kroner and 24% against the South African rand.

MILWAUKEE SENTINAL JOURNAL EXPOSING SUBPRIME LOANS

Pedro Medellin, a young bank teller who lives with his mother, knows he isn’t a typical homebuyer.

“With what I make,” he asks, “how would I get approved for a mortgage?”

Yet somehow he did.

While earning $9.25 an hour, Medellin struggles to pay a $103,500 high-interest loan for an often-vandalized house on Milwaukee’s north side. The city assessed the property at almost $40,000 less.

To cover the loan, Medellin sends a check each month to a local lender for $1,079 — more than his monthly take-home pay. He must dip into his small savings account or hit up his mother for cash to make up the difference.

The story of how a 24-year-old man with a negative net worth received a six-figure loan from a reputable lender shows how eager the financial community was to dole out subprime loans before the nation’s mortgage meltdown.

As housing prices were rising year after year, lenders across the country had eased underwriting standards. As a result, many homebuyers were able to secure high-interest loans without disclosing such basic information as their employment, income or assets. The real estate boom stalled, and many subprime borrowers found themselves unable to refinance or sell their homes.

In Medellin’s case, the deal wouldn’t have been possible without the motley collection of individuals and firms eager to get a piece of the 8.75% loan and the fees that went with it.

SUBPRIME CRISIS LINKED TO PRICE OF OIL

OPEC president says oil prices not tied to market

ALGIERS, Algeria - The weak U.S. dollar, market speculation and the subprime crisis are the causes for the spiraling price of oil, OPEC’s current president said Saturday.Algerian Energy Minister Chakib Khelil told reporters the cartel will make no new decision on production levels until its Sept. 9 meeting in Vienna.He notes that OPEC controls only 40 percent of world oil production, and says the high prices do not reflect market conditions but rather other factors linked to the weakening dollar, market speculation and the U.S. subprime mortgage market turmoil.

NOTE: This puts the blame squarely on Wall Street and the US treasury,

CENTER FOR RESPONSIBLE LENDING: Families save billions as Ohio joins 14 states and DC in rejecting predatory payday lending

One third of the nation’s population will soon be free of a practice that has stripped billions per year from the paychecks of low-wealth Americans over the past two decades, as Governor Ted Strickland signs a law today capping interest rates at 28 percent in Ohio. Enforcement of a two-digit rate will save citizens $1.74 billion per year in fifteen states plus the District of Columbia, where 33 percent of the US population lives. Just a year ago, only about 20 percent of citizens lived in payday lending-free zones.

In a faltering economy marked by debt saturation, payday lending threatens to further rock the finances of people struggling to meet their obligations. Payday lenders draw in borrowers who need cash before their next payday, and charge them annual interest of about 400 percent, or $50 every two weeks for a $300 loan. Most borrowers cannot pay back their loan the first time and walk away, as the terms are designed to trigger expensive repeat borrowing. The average borrower has nine loans per year, amounting to about $450 in interest for a $300 loan, repeatedly closed out and re-opened.

BANK CEO OUT AT WACHOVIA

Investment News reports: Wachovia chief asked to leave by board

G. Kennedy Thomson is retiring after the board asked him to leave in the wake of bad acquisitions and weak financial results.