For U.S. consumers and companies, the era of easy access to cash may be ending. While innovation in corporate credit has helped home buyers with checkered debt records buy houses and kept company default rates at historic lows, the first signs of a coming credit crunch are emerging in the housing market. “A weak housing market can tighten credit constraints and raise the overall costs of consumer finance,” said Suzanne Mistretta, an analyst with Derivative Fitch. “The housing market and financial health of the consumer will be the focus” in 2007. Source: Reuters