Foreclosures hit new record

Thu Aug 20,09

WHAT HAPPENED?: A quarterly report released Thursday by the Mortgage Bankers Association found that more than 13 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage have fallen behind on their payments or are in foreclosure.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?: It's another new record, and an indication that the foreclosure crisis is still getting worse as layoffs continue to soar.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR THE ECONOMY?: Foreclosures won't stop rising until around six months after layoffs peak. And economists don't expect unemployment, now at 9.4 percent, to crest until this winter at the earliest.