Put your housing loans in orders

"With hundreds of officials and experts convening here over the weekend, the theme this year has not been fear of protesters but of the global impact of the collapse in the American housing sector, which many delegates blame on lax regulations and sleepy regulators in Europe and the United States.

"Allow me to point out the irony of this situation," Finance Minister Guido Mantega of Brazil said, noting that "countries that were references of good governance, of standards and codes for the financial systems" were now "the very countries" whose financial problems threatened global prosperity.

In an interview, Trevor Manuel, the finance minister of South Africa, said: "If one looks at the impact of the subprime crisis in the U.S., the losers are poor citizens who tend to be black and Hispanic. But it is also the large banks with an international profile in Europe and the United States that have taken a beating."" (thanks Yaz)