‘Boomerang’ home buyers are coming back

CNNMoney: Millions of Americans who lost their homes during the foreclosure crisis are now poised to become homeowners again. That’s according to a new report from RealtyTrac, which estimates that 7.3 million so-called boomerang buyers will return to the U.S. housing market over the next eight years.

Orders for U.S. capital goods drop for fourth straight month

Bloomberg: Orders for business equipment unexpectedly fell in December for a fourth month, signaling that a global growth slowdown is weighing on American companies. Bookings for non-military capital goods excluding aircraft dropped 0.6 percent for a second month. Demand for all durable goods declined 3.4 percent, the worst performance since August.

Investment riches built on subprime auto loans

The New York Times: Across the country, there is a booming business in lending to the working poor – those Americans with impaired credit who need cars to get to work. But this market is as much about Wall Street’s perpetual demand for high returns as it is about used cars. An influx of investor money is making more loans possible, but all that money may also be enabling excessive risk-taking that could have repercussions throughout the financial system, analysts and regulators caution.