Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop

Fear of brake on US consumer spending

By Peter Fearon, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 7, 2007 4:07 AM CDT

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Foreclosures Trigger Asian Drop — A woman walks past a stock indicator in Tokyo Wednesday, Sept. 5, 2007. Japanese stocks fell Wednesday for a third straight session in light trading as concerns linger over murky future impact of U.S. subprime mortgage problems. he benchmark Nikkei 225 index dropped 262.02 points, or 1.6 percent, on... (Associated Press)

Asian stocks are falling again, reflecting worry the growing credit crisis in the US will puncture the economy and slash consumer spending. Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's second largest lender, dropped to a two-week low after an increase in home foreclosures in the US —and many other Asian financial stocks and indices dipped, reports Bloomberg.

Fueling the drop was news that banks began seizing homes securing .65%of US mortgages last quarter, an all-time high. Delinquent subprime borrowers increased from 13.8% to 14.8%. "Whenever there is any talk about subprime, it helps fuel uncertainty in the money markets," said one money manager. (More Asian stocks stories.)

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