An adjustable-rate mortgage taken out in 2005 that adjusted earlier this year means $400 more each month in payments. That’s based on the average prie of the average home, around $250,000. Now don’t break out the calculators just yet, as I’m giving you rough information from statistics, as I remember my stats classes and those wonderful discussions on mean, medium, and norm.

Adjustments like that, combined with higher food and gas prices, have mortgage brokers, investors, and families singing the blues this summer. $100 more for gasoline, $400 more for the house payment, $100 more for the grocery budget, a little more for homeowners insurance. We long for the days of stability and predictability.

A three-day sell-off on Wall Street has slashed nearly 540 points from the Dow-Jones Industrial Average and wiped out hundreds of billions in stock market value. The sharp decline, following so closely the breaking of the 14,000 mark by the Dow last week, underscores the increasing instability of the US and world financial system. The mood during Thursday’s trading was widely described as one of “panic” and “fear.”