07 December 2007

Surge in Auto-Loan Delinquencies Is Latest Trouble for the Economy - WSJ.com

Surge in Auto-Loan Delinquencies
Is Latest Trouble for the Economy

By JEFFREY MCCRACKEN and GREGORY ZUCKERMAN
December 6, 2007; Page A1

First came housing loans and the subprime-mortgage crisis.

Now, signs of stress are creeping into another key consumer area: auto loans.

Delinquencies in the auto-loan market are ticking up to their highest level in several years. Lenders are tightening terms in some cases, and interest rates have risen from the rock-bottom levels of a few years ago. About $575 billion in loans for new and used cars are made annually, according to the National Automotive Finance Association.

Tight Credit Stirs Central Banks - WSJ.com

Tight Credit Stirs Central Banks

U.K. Rate Cut Is First
In More Than Two Years;
ECB Girds for Slowdown

By JOELLEN PERRY and ALISTAIR MACDONALD
December 7, 2007; Page A2

LONDON -- Mounting concerns about the economic fallout from the global credit-market turmoil trumped inflation worries in Europe as the Bank of England cut its key rate for the first time in more than two years, while European Central Bank policy makers held steady despite persistent price pressures.

The Bank of England lowered its key policy rate by a quarter-point to 5.5%, its first cut since August 2005. The ECB, meanwhile, kept its key rate at 4% despite rising inflation, as policy makers acknowledged that growth in the 13 countries that share the euro currency will slow next year.

Temasek issue

Mari angkringan kita diawali dg obrolan yg "agak serius": putusan KPPU tentang Temasek.

Terinspirasi tulisan dari kampus tetangga tentang Temasek, sy jadi bertanya-tanya tentang isu-isu yg muncul diseputarnya. FYI, KPPU memutuskan bahwa Temasek holding melakukan penguasaan pasar telekomunikasi Indonesia melalui Indosat dan Telkomsel. Singkat cerita, ada dua kubu disini (mengambil dari tulisan blog tetangga di atas):

PRO keputusan KPPU:
1. Temasek akan dianggap bersalah pula di AS dan UE,
2. Penegakan hukum secara tidak pandang bulu merupakan kejelasan hukum,
3. Tarif di Indonesia memang sangat mahal,
4. Pengusiran Temasek tidak ada pengaruhnya terhadap iklim investasi.

selamat datang...

selamat datang di Obrolan Angkring, tempatnya orang ngeluarin uneg-uneg, cerita, dan terutama--juga dinanti--diskusi tentang kehidupan. Ngobrolin masalah ekonomi? Boleh... Pengen berkutat dengan teori-teori filsafat dan humaniora? Monggo... Masalah kehidupan kota? Silakan...

Pake basa jawa, bahasa indonesia, inggris juga dipersilakan.

Asal jangan lupa aja netiketnya: no spam, no porn, no sarcasm, no vandalism, and please be thoughtful of what you wanna say. Thanks.

07 December 2007