Her choices: keep the loan and run the risk of future increases, or ditch her adjustable mortgage in favor of a more stable loan with a higher monthly payment.
Lou Albanese, President and Managing Partner at Catamount Wealth Management with nearly $300 million in assets under management likes financial stocks and told me, "We see book values and PEs among the financials as relatively cheap given improved visibility from tax cuts, rising interest rates, stable loan activity, easing regulations, and healthy credit trends.
These funds have expressed plans to purchase a foundation of very stable student loans mixed in with some higher risk business loans and a broad range of personal loans.
By far the least stable is loans, which are often short term and can be withdrawn on short notice, creating havoc.
While the government bond holdings remained stable, the loans decreased by $3 trillionn (approximately 15%0 during the period.
Mr. McCain said his plan would similarly help up to 400,000 homeowners refinance into more stable government-backed loans.
President Bush and leading Democrats in Congress are counting on the F.H.A., which is overseen by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to help distressed borrowers refinance into stable, government-backed loans.
The Federal Housing Administration, the branch of HUD that officials are asking to help hundreds of thousands of vulnerable homeowners refinance to stable, government-backed loans, is on the brink of insolvency.
F.H.A. officials have asserted in recent weeks that more than 150,000 people have benefited from the program, which was intended to help troubled homeowners refinance into stable, government-issued loans.
What remains unclear is whether the Bush administration will negotiate with Congress on efforts to help homeowners refinance into more stable and affordable loans, or if, in an election year, it ultimately wants to deny Democrats any credit if the plan were to work.
