WASHINGTON – President Bush on Friday outlined ways to help homeowners facing foreclosure – the administration’s first effort to deal with an expected wave of defaults fueled by the mortgage crisis.

The initiatives, which are not aimed at bailing out lenders or speculators, are designed to help homeowners with risky mortgages keep their houses. In remarks in the Rose Garden, Bush also discussed efforts to keep the problems from arising in the future.

“The government’s got a role to play, but it is limited,” Bush said. “A federal bailout of lenders would only encourage a recurrence of the problem.”

WASHINGTON — Consumers returned to the malls in July after taking a breather in June, although worries about the future could make the rebound short-lived.

The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending rose by 0.4 percent in July, double the June increase. The spending was supported by a solid 0.5 percent rise in incomes, the best showing in this area in four months.

The gain in spending was right in line with expectations, while the increase in incomes was double what analysts had expected. However, economists cautioned that the July increases could be temporary given recent weakness in consumer confidence caused by a prolonged slump in housing and the past several weeks of financial market turbulence.

Blame it on the speculators.

That’s what the Mortgage Bankers Assn. did Thursday in a report showing that as many as 1 in 5 mortgages in default in California belongs to borrowers who are not living in the homes with the troubled loans.

The numbers were worse in Nevada, Arizona and Florida, where one-quarter to one-third of defaults as of June 30 were tied to investor loans, the Washington-based trade group said.

Mortgage bankers are coming under increasing fire for their role in pushing high-cost adjustable-rate loans on homeowners during the recent housing boom. But now with the housing market in the doldrums, a growing number of borrowers are unable to make their monthly mortgage payments and are falling into foreclosure.

The Conference Board on Thursday reported that its index measuring job offerings in major U.S. newspapers fell one point in July, marking the third straight month of declines.

The organization’s Help-Wanted Advertising Index now stands at 25, down from 26 in June and 31 a year ago. In the last three months, help-wanted advertising cooled in all nine U.S. regions, with the largest declines occurring in the West North Central (-17.4 percent), Mountain (-16.6 percent) and Pacific (-16.3 percent) regions.

Moist Slow Cooker Meals

When you are cooking with a slow cooker, remember that cheaper cuts of
meat do much better (such as chuck roasts or chuck steaks). Very lean
cuts of beef come out very dry. Chicken legs or thighs generally will
give a more moist end result than chicken breast. If you do use chicken
breast, use the whole breasts, not the boneless skinless breasts, since
they will remain moister. Remove the bones and skin after cooking.

Also, remember to use enough liquid to cook over a long period of time.
Liquids like chicken or beef broth or cream soups diluted with water
make very good gravies in the slow cooker.
Linda