>>>>Laying blames is exclusively your business so don't peddle it around. FYI, great majority of US homeowners take fixed-rate mortgages.
>>>
>>>In Norway more or less nobody has fixed interest mortgages, because statistics over many, many years have shown that it's cheaper in the long run with "variable" interest. I am pretty sure the same is valid in the rest of Europe.
>>
>>You could be right, but press, at least here, always blames (sorry, for the word :) exotic (i.e. adjustable etc.) mortgages for homeowner failures i.e. foreclosures. It is also traditional in States, as far as I know, to take fixed-rate. I am unsure about statistics, but, in general, imo, adjustable is still a gamble that rates will go down.
>
>This is also a gamble for the banks, and the reality is that the banks are more clever gamlers than private persons. The net result is that the banks give you a higher rate for fixed rate mortgages since they are forced, by their owners, to earn money. But I guess the free press coverage/advertisements ratio is very different in the US than over here, so we get to hear more from "both sides".

That's the point (re: cleverer gamblers). Adjustable rate assumes more active 'poker' with bankers and realistically our (individual consumers) chances are not very high.