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Other sure winners in the push to curb global warming: <br />Makers of all sorts of Earth-friendly building products... <br />from high-efficiency fluorescent bulbs to improved insulation. <br />Plus substitutes not only for lumber and wood, but also for glass, <br />concrete and other materials whose production emits high levels of CO2. <br />Firms that help automakers meet rising fuel efficiency standards, <br />which will hit 40 miles per gallon by 2015 or so, versus 27.5 mpg now. <br />Automakers are likely to turn to firms such as BorgWarner and SKF <br />for superefficient steering and braking systems, drivetrains <br />and turbochargers. Also to companies such as Magna International, <br />which makes ultralight but strong steel. Others, such as ECD Ovonics, <br />Ballard Power and Apollo Energy, will profit from interest in fuel cells. <br />Will it take years for a thriving green market to develop? <br />Not at all. Some smart companies are already investing big bucks, <br />not waiting for government regulators to lower the boom. Wal-Mart <br />is budgeting $500 million a year for emissions-cutting measures. <br />Bank of America, Exelon, Swiss Re and Toyota have all pledged <br />to lower their contributions to global warming over the next few years. <br />Uncle Sam is buying in. The country's biggest energy user, <br />the Defense Department, is inking deals for new photovoltaic arrays. <br />Ditto, many towns and cities. They're turning to solar panels <br />for traffic signals and other lighting plus buying office furniture, <br />cleaning supplies and other products made from renewable materials. <br />® The housing market will stay in the doldrums well into next near. <br />' ' The _subprime mess has a very long tail. <br />The number of loans facing interest rate changes ~ <br />has yet to peak in this risky mortgage class . ~ M~9~ Loans <br />It will stay high through fall of next year, Facinq Interest Rate Resets <br />keeping foreclosures ...and supply... on the rise . so ---°------°-- ~-~ ----°~•~~° <br />Leading home builders are downbeat, <br />40 .___._.__.. ____ .~. <br />despite March's surprise gain in housing starts. <br />The figures are distorted by a surge in building ~ °'°' <br />in the Midwest after the snow and cold of Feb. zo _ <br />Other regions showed significant slowdowns. <br />Inventory levels are worrisome. 10 <br />They're at 8.1 months of supply for new homes, p (rtanth Svolume,inbilllans) <br />marking the highest level since January 1991, ~~ ~~so,,,~,c~.c~~s„~~:. <br />when the housing market was in a nasty decline. <br />Housing's prolonged slump will pressure the economy next year, <br />forcing other sectors to carry more of the .load to support growth. <br />With Congress rejecting calls to bail out subprime borrowers... <br />Some states are acting on their own to limit foreclosures. <br />Ohio is selling $100 million in taxable bonds and will use the proceeds <br />to refinance shaky adjustable mortgages into fixed-rate loans at 6.75%. <br />The state's cost: $3300 per loan, well below the $80,000 that foreclosure <br />and resale typically cost the homeowner, lender and local government. <br />Other states are also looking to help beleaguered homeowners, <br />including Calif., .Colo., Md., Mass., Minn., R.I., Va., Wash. and Wis. <br />Congress WILL put the rating agencies in the hot seat soon, <br />probing conflicts of interest and asking why Standard & Poor's, Moody's <br />and Fitch were slow to cut their ratings on subprime-backed securities. <br />Remember, your subscription includes The Kiplinger Letter online <br />