Building a world of resilient communities.    The US Auto
Industry Crisis  Nihonkai Shimbun and Osaka Nichinichi Shimbun
(November 10 2005)    Mortgage Debts     What made this possible
is the housing bubble in the US, which was underwritten by the
low interest policy of the Federal Reserve Board along with
large-scale borrowing of funds from Japan and China. Low
interest rates stimulated demand for expensive housing. Rising
demand caused prices to rise, and rising prices raised
expectations for even higher prices, stimulating still greater
demand and higher prices. This spiral has allowed Americans to
borrow greater and greater amounts of money against the apparent
values of their homes to finance much greater consumption than
they could afford from their own real incomes. (Perhaps "lured"
is more apt than "allowed" here.)  A Decline in Consumption is
Inevitable  Many analysts are predicting an end to this housing
bubble. When the bubble bursts, housing prices may fall
dramatically, forcing homeowners to cur