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Investor's Business Daily - Nearly 70% of Americans, or every 2 in 3, who applied for a home mortgage found the process more difficult than before the U.S. housing crisis began, as lenders have made it tougher to get credit amid falling home prices, according to a survey by Deloitte. The survey said 65% seeking home equity lines of credit reported greater difficulty, as did 62% looking for personal loans.

Investor's Business Daily - Defaults on consumer debt -- mortgages, credit cards, home equity loans -- have dominated the news and sent markets reeling in recent months. Now the next wave of defaults looms. And it's a growing roster of corporations that figure to be the deadbeats.

Investor's Business Daily - Gov't-insured mortgages accounted for more than 29% of all loan applications in July vs. 8.4% a year earlier, said the Mortgage Bankers Assoc. The gov't market share hit a low of 5.8% 3 years ago. Demand for home loans backed by Federal Housing Administration has increased as private funding has dried up and the gov't has expanded the FHA's scope. FHA loans are insured by the gov't in the event of default, but the actual mortgages are made by major lenders.

Investor's Business Daily - That was slightly better than Wall St. estimates, while April's rise in consumer credit outstanding was revised down to $7.8 bil. Credit card and other revolving debt grew by $5.7 bil after April's drop of $424 mil. Auto, boat and other nonrevolving loans rose $2.1 bil.

Investor's Business Daily - The proportion of working-age Americans facing medical debt rose to 72 mil or 41% last year, up from 58 mil or 34% in '05, according to a new survey by the nonprofit Commonwealth Fund. About half of those facing health debt have up to $2,000 in bills, while 12% have more than $4,000 in debt and another 12% have more than $8,000. The survey also found most of those with medical debt said they had exhausted their savings, with some also tapping into credit cards, home equity or cutting back on food or heat to cover health care costs.

Investor's Business Daily - The Mortgage Bankers Association said home loan applications rose in the week ended July 4, despite rising interest rates, to the highest level since early June. Refinance applications rose 8.7%. Demand for mortgages to buy a home grew 6.7%. The average rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages rose to 6.43% last week vs. 6.33% a week earlier.

Investor's Business Daily - S&P's distressed debt ratio has hit a 5-year high, nearly doubling in July. The move suggests an upsurge in corporate bankruptcies over the next few years and a need for more capital. Also, credit-card charge-offs rose again in May, said Moody's. It said conditions "will likely get worse." American Express last week missed Q2 views badly.

Investor's Business Daily - Home loan rates rose sharply over the past week amid inflation fears, a rebound in stocks and Treasury yields, and tighter credit standards. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose to 6.63% for the week ended July 24 from 6.26% a week ago, said Freddie Mac. It's the 8th straight week over 6%. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage rose 40 basis points to 6.18%. The 5-year Treasury-indexed adjustable-rate mortgage jumped to 6.18%, while the 1-year ARM was up to 5.49%.

Investor's Business Daily - Some 62% of American investors believe the economy is contracting, according to a survey by asset management firm Schroders. But 94% said they still expect to profit from their investments during the next 12 months. The economy grew at a 1% annual rate in Q1 and Wall Street estimates that growth accelerated to a 2.3% pace in Q2. But falling home prices, the credit crunch and high energy prices have hurt sentiment.