UK housing crisis looms

We are now all familiar with the damage that can be done to financial markets by a sub-prime lending...

We are now all familiar with the damage that can be done to financial markets by a sub-prime lending crisis. Global equity markets have taken a battering recently because of concerns about US home mortgages, but which country is next? The UK's property bubble has been every bit as crazy as the US's. Valuations were stretched and lending criteria loosened. Now arrears are starting to rocket, even while the economy remains healthy. The latest figures on debts and mortgage arrears in the UK make very grim reading. As London-based consulting firm Capital Economics advised investors: "With hig...