Credit Crunch Continues, and So Do Ads

(NEWSER) - Troubled mortgage lender Countrywide announced today that it would cut up to 12,000 jobs–or some 20% of its total workforce–over the next three months. The Wall Street Journal reports that, as the subprime debacle rocks the housing market and the lending industry, Countrywide expects to issue 25% fewer loans this year. More»

Experts expect credit card trouble to track mortgage woes

(NEWSER) - The subprime mortgage crisis may spark another financial disaster: bad credit card debt. When rates hit 50-year lows, many owners borrowed against their homes to pay off high-interest credit cards. Now, with rates increasing, many may not be able to pay down both their mortgages and their credit cards, the Chicago Tribune reports, and will default or go bankrupt. More»

Lender avoids disaster as bank buys $2 billion in cut-rate shares

(NEWSER) - Countrywide came back from the brink yesterday as Bank of America bought $2 billion in preferred stock in the mortgage company, writes the Los Angeles Times. Countrywide's share price soared in after-hours trading, only a week after the credit crunch brought it to the point of bankruptcy. More»

Top US mortgage lender caught in the squeeze

(NEWSER) - Loan giant Countrywide saw its shares plummet 13% yesterday after the company experienced trouble borrowing money in the market for short-term debt. A Merrill Lynch analyst downgraded the stock from "buy" to "sell," sparking talk of possible bankruptcy, reports the LA Times. Before today's open, the company announced it's drawing on $11.6 billion in unsecured lines of credit. More»

Boutique banks on the edge as liquidity crisis wears on

(NEWSER) - As the subprime fallout continues and the credit squeeze tightens, thousands of smaller-scale mortgage banks find themselves in dire straits. The Wall Street Journal reports that small- and medium-sized lenders, even those with excellent credit quality, are suspending funding and laying off employees, which leaves giant corporations to grab more of the (shaky) market. More»