U.S. home loan applications climb upward - 2004-01-07
Applications for mortgage loans in the United States went up slightly last week, just one week after hitting their lowest level of 2003, a mortgage industry trade group said on Wednesday.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its widely watched measure of demand for loans to purchase a home, the purchase index, rose 2.9 percent to 401.3 in the Jan. 2 week.
Read the full story at MSNBC

More credit pain coming? - 2004-01-07
The record percentage of consumers missing their credit-card payments could be the ugly result of a weakening housing market -- and an ominous sign of more credit pain to come, economists said Wednesday.

But Morgan Stanley senior economist Bill Sullivan suggested there may be another culprit -- the end of the mortgage refinancing boom.
Read the full story at CNN