To the Point
Housing Market: Investment Boom or Next Bubble?
During the recent downturn, real estate has been given a lot of the credit for keeping America-s economy afloat. As value drains out of the stock markets and interest rates shrink to near record lows, real estate looks like a better and better investment. Housing prices are sky high and equity is rising, but who know how long it will stay that way. For many, expectations exceed affordability, and sizeable mortgage payments put owners at risk of losing the place they live. Can investing in the American dream turn into a nightmare? We consider whether the real estate boom is actually a bubble ready to burst, with a first time buyer, a building trade economist, the director of the UCLA Anderson Business Forecast, and an authority on socio-economic trends. Newsmaker: Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated at UCLA At UCLA Medical Center, 50 doctors and nurses have worked around the clock to perform an extraordinary operation. They have separated year-old Siamese-twin girls, who were joined at the head and face in opposite directions. Nick Madigan, who is reporting the story for the New York Times, has a progress report on the Guatemalan toddlers. Reporter's Notebook: Colombia-s President Faces Stiff Battle over Political Reform Although he won-t be sworn in until tomorrow, the new President of Colombia has already faced by guerrilla attacks on an airport, police station, and electric and oil pipelines. Still, -lvaro Uribe has the vigorous support of President Bush, and the American presence there is growing. John Otis, South America bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle, looks at the hard-line politician and changing US policy in his country.
By Warren Olney • • 1 min readDuring the recent downturn, real estate has been given a lot of the credit for keeping America-s economy afloat. As value drains out of the stock markets and interest rates shrink to near record lows, real estate looks like a better and better investment. Housing prices are sky high and equity is rising, but who know how long it will stay that way. For many, expectations exceed affordability, and sizeable mortgage payments put owners at risk of losing the place they live. Can investing in the American dream turn into a nightmare? We consider whether the real estate boom is actually a bubble ready to burst, with a first time buyer, a building trade economist, the director of the UCLA Anderson Business Forecast, and an authority on socio-economic trends.
Conjoined Twins Successfully Separated at UCLA
At UCLA Medical Center, 50 doctors and nurses have worked around the clock to perform an extraordinary operation. They have separated year-old Siamese-twin girls, who were joined at the head and face in opposite directions. Nick Madigan, who is reporting the story for the New York Times, has a progress report on the Guatemalan toddlers.
Colombia-s President Faces Stiff Battle over Political Reform
Although he won-t be sworn in until tomorrow, the new President of Colombia has already faced by guerrilla attacks on an airport, police station, and electric and oil pipelines. Still, -lvaro Uribe has the vigorous support of President Bush, and the American presence there is growing. John Otis, South America bureau chief for the Houston Chronicle, looks at the hard-line politician and changing US policy in his country.