Finance

In analyzing the concept of religion in Europe, one aspect that seems prevalent is the dominant Christian memory. The question that often arises queries the extent to which religion is still intact in modern Europe. Gracie Davie poses the dilemma that arises which she postulates to be individual definition of the term intact (Davie 176). It therefore follows that there could only be two faces to the resulting scenario. One way is to look at the intactness of religion as the existence of the memory while at the same time  analyzing it in a manner that acknowledges a majority of Europeans to share the ideologies engendered in Christianity and go on to embrace this ideologies and practices. Another facet that arises while dealing with religion in modern Europe is the prevalent diversification that it exhibits. In this regard, Europes model of European religion has been portrayed more or less as the de facto religion of Europe in the modern era. The balance between personal integration of religion and the diversity of the concept of religion in Europe is the major factor that defines approaches of interpreting it under various levels including society and its various facets that range from politics, gender, secularism, government, economy as well as morality. Under one perspective, it is rendered totally impractical to sustain the historical dimension of religion without appearing biased and superficial to the taste and preference of other religions as well as an array of secular traditions.
A concept that is core in Modern European religion is the vicarious memory. In modern Europe only a few members of society take on the mantle of preserving religious memory signifying that religion is no longer taking the central place in peoples lives (Davie 177). There is no doubt about the fact that Christianity still exists in modern Europe but alongside this existence is a diminished number of individuals who can preserve it by articulating its fundamental tenets. Earlier, religious preservation was the province of men, in modern Europe there has been a shift with women exceeding men, with older generations taking more responsibility than the younger generation. In Western Europe, the literate are more responsible for religious preservation as opposed to peasantry in the pre-modern times. The liturgy has also seen women come to the front to preserve the ancient practice. In order to preserve the mannerisms engendered in the liturgy, religion has redefined the ancient practice which has seen it make amendments as to who is permitted to conduct liturgies.  This has seen ordination of female priests. In a significant number of protestant churches that are spread across Europe, women have been widely accepted and they are able to  The problem of sub-prime mortgage melt down caught many individuals unawares although some speculations were made. It occurred in 2007 a time of stock collapse in the United States and other western countries. As a problem challenging the economic growth of a super power nation, many policies were incorporated by financial institutions and government to handle this situation. The essay paper is a discussion of the failures that occurred in banks as a result of sub prime mortgage melt down and the measures taken by the government to correct this problem.
     A sub-prime mortgage is a form of mortgage that is given to a customer with poor credit background such that the possibility of repaying the mortgage is very low. A sub-prime mortgage has been used in the United States as a way of promoting the growth of housing sector. It has grown dramatically because lenders charge different borrowers prices that are different basing on the credit worthiness of the borrower. This form of mortgage attracts high interest rates than conventional loans and most mortgages have adjustable mortgage rates. In addition, some types of sub prime mortgage loans such as stated income and documentation are made at higher interest rates. Most sub-prime mortgages are branches of Adjustable Rate Mortgage (A.R.M) and they contain adjustable and fixed rates. Sub-prime mortgage have different options for payment which each customer has to make choice (Barrell, Davis, 2008). Payment of interest for this form of mortgage is made within a given period of time.
    In the United States, there has been a rise in mortgage foreclosures that has resulted to sub prime mortgage meltdown that has resulted from a crisis in real estate investment. Banks and financial institutions have been adversely affected by sub prime mortgage in most parts of the world. The current financial crisis of 2007 in the United States has been apparent had has threatened investment in real estate. The value of houses and other real investments in the United States and other global countries is very low compared to past years due to this meltdown. The decline of house prices during this period has made it very difficult for borrowers to refinance their mortgage and this has been a threat in sub-prime mortgages and other financial institutions. Since most of sub-prime mortgages are adjustable rate mortgages, resulted to securities loosing its value. Most stocks that were linked to sub prime mortgage that were held by banks declined in value resulting to capital decline in many financial institution of the United States. Other entities that were sponsored by government were forced to tighten credit terms globally.
    Sub-prime mortgage meltdown can be traced back on 2006 when housing bubble in United States collapsed as a result of high rates of mortgage default. The time before the crisis happened was a boom in economic terms and the banks made loans to be available at very low interest rates. The availability of loans and mortgages attracted many individuals who had higher expectations of return that was never to be (Marks, 2008). The interest rates began to rise and the prices of real estate went down making it difficult for the borrowers to default the loans and mortgages. The initial terms of accessing loan or mortgage had expired and the adjustable rate mortgage interests were very high. Foreclosures resulted in many mortgage firms like the sub-prime mortgage crisis which was a result of poor mortgage payment.
Failures in major banks and industries
    Banks and other form of industries were adversely affected by giving loans and mortgages to uncredit worthiness customers who were unable to refinance. The government had enforced policies that led to banks make bad loans. The government policy is called Community Reinvestment Act which enforces banking laws that leads to banks giving unworthy customers loans or mortgages. Low income earners are encouraged to take mortgages which they could not have afforded. This has led to failure of banks and other financial institutions through bad loans or sub prime mortgages. The banks and mortgage firms that have been exposed to these failures have come up with technique of charging high interest rates to riskier loans or mortgages like sub prime mortgages (Barrell, Davis, 2008). This strategy has led to creation of a crisis in the banking industry and financial institutions.
     The common failure of banks in sub prime mortgage meltdown is the position of banks to be in a position of not recovering fully the loaned amount. This has led to disruption in the way banks work and many financial institutions have collapsed from this crisis. The expectations of many investors were not met and this resulted to investors turning away from the United States to other developing nations. The stock market or securities was adversely affected due to low prices of securities and those who had invested in these markets made unpredicted losses. The mortgages were made for real estate investment like houses however, the prices of these investments were very low such that nobody wanted to invest in real estate.
Corrective actions taken by U.S government
     The government is a key player in safeguarding the welfare of mortgage firms and especially the sub-prime mortgage melt down. First, the government should abolish laws that are misleading as on how to give mortgages and loans. Community Reinvestment Act is one of the policies that government should do away with. This will lead to banks and financial institutions give loans and mortgages to customers who are credit worth. The second action that should be taken by government is to give central bank money that will repay mortgage firms money that had not been refinanced. Thirdly, the government should put good governing rules and regulations about the capacity of some financial institutions to grand customers loans. The government should incorporate measures that will protect the welfare of financial institutions and customers.