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	<title>Smart Borrower Blog</title>
	<link>http://www.loan.com/blog</link>
	<description>Tools and advice to help you get the best possible mortgage loan.</description>
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		<title>Credit Card Use Jumped in December</title>
		<description><![CDATA[U.S. consumers pulled out their plastic in greater numbers for purchases in December, according to information from the Federal Reserve Tuesday. Total credit debt increased substantially as well. Revolving credit, such as credit card debt, grew by $2.76 billion in December to $800.98 billion, after rising $5.58 billion in November. Non-revolving credit, driven by student [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2012/02/08/credit-card-use-jumped-in-december/</link>
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		<title>Obama Announces New Mortgage Refinance Aid</title>
		<description><![CDATA[On Wednesday, President Barack Obama announced some modifications to his administration&#8217;s previous foreclosure-prevention plans in hopes of extending relief to more struggling homeowners. “I am sending Congress a plan that will give every responsible homeowner in America a chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage by refinancing at historically low rates,” he [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2012/02/01/obama-announces-new-mortgage-refinance-aid/</link>
			</item>
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		<title>Fed Keeps Rate At Rock Bottom, No Changes Likely Until 2014</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After its two day meeting, the Federal Reserve decided to leave its target interest rate unchanged, and also forecasted that it will not raise rates until the end of 2014. The federal funds rate, the Fed&#8217;s main method of affecting inflation and the economy, will remain in the range of zero to 0.25 percent for [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2012/01/25/fed-keeps-rate-at-rock-bottom-no-changes-likely-until-2014/</link>
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		<title>Small Business Loans Increase But Obstacles Remain</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Total lending to U.S. small businesses grew again in November, according to the latest Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, adding to a positive trend. The Index, a measure of overall small business loan volume, posted an 18 percent increase in November 2011 from November 2010, reaching the highest level since February 2008. This yearly [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2012/01/18/small-business-loans-increase-but-obstacles-remain/</link>
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		<title>Consumer Borrowing Makes Biggest Jump since 2001</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Consumers borrowed money at a higher rate in November than they have in a decade, according to the latest report from the Federal Reserve. Total consumer borrowing grew $20.4 billion in November to $2.48 trillion, posting the largest monthly gain since November 2001 when loans increased by $28 billion. The new total is almost back [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2012/01/11/consumer-borrowing-makes-biggest-jump-since-2001/</link>
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		<title>Middle Age Students Taking Out More Loans</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Students in the middle-age bracket are accumulating college loan debt at a faster pace than any other age, according to analysis from Reuters, standing as another visible effect of the sluggish economy. The Reuters data found that while borrowing is up among all student age groups, it has really skyrocketed in the past three year [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2012/01/04/middle-age-students-taking-out-more-loans/</link>
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		<title>Parents Helping Kids Get Mortgage Loans</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In these days of economic uncertainty, many potential homebuyers are asking their parents for help. Today buyers are facing the most stringent lending standards in decades as well as a shaky job market. They are often in need of a good chunk of change in order to qualify for a home purchase. According to a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2011/12/28/parents-helping-kids-get-mortgage-loans/</link>
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		<title>Subprime Borrowers Boost Auto Lending</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The automotive lending pipeline has started to open up again for borrowers with less than stellar credit. According to new reports, car loans for subprime buyers, or those with credit score between 550 and 620, have risen substantially this year, indicating a revival of lending among that market segment. Information from CNW Research and Experian, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2011/12/21/subprime-borrowers-boost-auto-lending/</link>
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		<title>Small Business Lending Suggests Stronger Economy</title>
		<description><![CDATA[U.S. small businesses are borrowing more these days, after having consolidated and tightened up during the recession. Increased borrowing points to a stronger, more solid economic foundation than before the recession, according to PayNet President William Phelan. The Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index, a measure of the total loan activity to small businesses, grew [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2011/12/14/small-business-lending-suggests-stronger-economy/</link>
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		<title>Consumer Borrowing, Credit Card Use Up in October</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Consumers continued to borrow more money in October, according to the latest figures from the Federal Reserve, and the trend could suggest either progress or danger. Total consumer credit grew by $7.6 billion to $2.457 trillion, outpacing September&#8217;s $6.88 billion increase. Americans have upped their spending and borrowing for 12 of the past 13 months, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.loan.com/blog/2011/12/07/consumer-borrowing-credit-card-use-up-in-october/</link>
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