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| Obama's housing plan 'to help 9m' | |
| (30 minutes later) | |
| President Barack Obama's plan to tackle the US housing crisis is aiming to help up to nine million families. | |
| The plan will aim to provide refinancing to four to five million "responsible homeowners". | The plan will aim to provide refinancing to four to five million "responsible homeowners". |
| A $75bn (£53bn) "homeowner stability initiative" will also aim to help reduce monthly payments for a further three to four million people. | A $75bn (£53bn) "homeowner stability initiative" will also aim to help reduce monthly payments for a further three to four million people. |
| President Obama is due to reveal the plan in full when he gives a speech at a high school in Arizona later. | President Obama is due to reveal the plan in full when he gives a speech at a high school in Arizona later. |
| The $75bn plan is more ambitious than expected. A summary was released by the Obama administration ahead of the speech. | The $75bn plan is more ambitious than expected. A summary was released by the Obama administration ahead of the speech. |
| Help for homeowners | Help for homeowners |
| Falling house prices have been at the heart of the problems in the financial sector. | Falling house prices have been at the heart of the problems in the financial sector. |
| More than one million people in the US have lost their homes in the housing crisis. | More than one million people in the US have lost their homes in the housing crisis. |
| The plan is designed to assist homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth, as well as those on the verge of foreclosure. | The plan is designed to assist homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are now worth, as well as those on the verge of foreclosure. |
| The summary said it could provide a buffer of up to $6,000 against declining values on the average home. | The summary said it could provide a buffer of up to $6,000 against declining values on the average home. |
| The plan also aims to increase confidence in mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which underwrite more than half of all US mortgages, by providing a further $200bn in Treasury funding. | |
| Mixed reception | Mixed reception |
| "The plan is good, but it is unnecessarily complicated," said Michael Cheah from AIG SunAmerica Asset Management. | "The plan is good, but it is unnecessarily complicated," said Michael Cheah from AIG SunAmerica Asset Management. |
| "I think it should come with side effects, like people trying to game the system. The Fed should just go ahead and expand the purchases of mortgage-backed securities." | "I think it should come with side effects, like people trying to game the system. The Fed should just go ahead and expand the purchases of mortgage-backed securities." |
| However, others were more optimistic. Lawrence White, economics professor at New York University Stern Business School, said he thought that tackling the foreclosure problem was a good start. | However, others were more optimistic. Lawrence White, economics professor at New York University Stern Business School, said he thought that tackling the foreclosure problem was a good start. |
| "I think the combination of the stimulus package and the efforts at dealing with foreclosures will mean that maybe by the fall we see a bottoming out of housing prices," he said. | "I think the combination of the stimulus package and the efforts at dealing with foreclosures will mean that maybe by the fall we see a bottoming out of housing prices," he said. |