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NEWS ABOUT: subprime crisis

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Cramer: the Bear Has Been Tamed

Bombastic market guru says Bear deal marks end of crisis; buy JP Morgan

(Newser) - We've hit bottom, Jim Cramer proclaims. Bear Stearns' collapse may have been apocalyptic in scale, but it at least woke up a complacent Fed and Treasury secretary, the bombastic market guru writes in New York today. “We’ve been through dozens of false bottoms,” he says, but now... More »

Mortgage Meltdown Hits Small Builders

Wave of bankruptcies could in turn weaken regional banks

(Newser) - The housing market collapse that's sending homeowners into foreclosure is starting to hit small- and medium-size builders left with developments they're unable to sell, the Wall Street Journal reports. Buyers are canceling contracts and builders are missing mortgage payments on often highly leveraged projects. Small regional banks, in turn, could... More »

Northern Rock: Post Mortem of a Spectacular Fall

Reckless play on global stage brought 'Northern Wreck' to its knees

(Newser) - The collapse of Northern Rock, Britains third-largest lender, was "the messiest banking crisis in the Western world resulting from the global credit crunch,'' a UK lawmaker tells Bloomberg in a post mortem of the disaster. “They really screwed it up,” said one analyst of the bank’... More »

Bernanke's Home Is Case in Slump's Point

Fed chief's DC digs worth about the same as in 2004

(Newser) - Federal Reserve boss Ben Bernanke’s own home illustrates the very crisis his organization must fight—in the midst of a national housing slump, it’s worth roughly the same as when he bought it in 2004, Bloomberg reports. Values peaked just after that; the fact that his Capitol Hill... More »

Freddie, Fannie Rules Eased to Boost Housing Market

Regulators reduce capital surplus required of firms

(Newser) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be able to buy more mortgages after the amount of capital they're required to hold as a cushion was cut from 30% to 20% today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move by the Bush administration should pump up to $200 billion of liquidity... More »

Lehman Bros. Q1 Profits Plunge 57%

But beleaguered firm still beats forecasts; stock up pre-market

(Newser) - Lehman Brothers, which yesterday lost 19% of its market value, today reported a 57% drop in net income for the first quarter and a 31% drop in net revenue. But those dire figures still beat analyst forecasts, sending the stock up 12% in premarket trading, the Wall Street Journal reports.... More »

Will Lehman Be the Crunch's Next Victim?

Shaky confidence means its biggest fear may be fear itself

(Newser) - After a collapse of confidence sank Bear Stearns last week, some traders are betting that Lehman Brothers will be the next victim of the credit crunch. Its stock went on a rollercoaster ride yesterday—plunging 40% at one point and closing down 19%, the biggest fall since the firm went... More »

State Budgets Caught in Economy's Freefall

Spending cuts, tax increases in store

(Newser) - Politicians from New York to California are wringing their hands, wondering whether to cut spending or raise taxes. As the economy barrels towards recession, income and sales taxes are coming in well below expectations, and about half the states in the country are facing budget shortfalls, the New York Times... More »

Investors Ask: Who's Next?

Wall Street survived the near-collapse of Bear Stearns, but there's more trouble ahead

(Newser) - Wall Street, reeling over JP Morgan’s bargain-basement purchase of Bear Stearns, is anxiously watching to see “who’s next” to succumb to the continuing credit squeeze, reports the Financial Times. As investment banks prepare to release first quarter results this week—led by Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers... More »

Wounded Bear Scrambles for a Savior

Stearns hopes to find a quick buyer in troubled times

(Newser) - What's next for Bear Stearns? A Wall Street institution for the better part of a century, it is now scrambling to find a buyer. Its best hope is JP Morgan, which provided a temporary lifeline yesterday along with the Fed. But other possible suitors include Citibank and HSBC, the Wall ... More »

Economy in Trouble: Bush

President warns of overreaction to housing, credit crises

(Newser) - The economy is experiencing difficulties, but President Bush said today he is certain a recovery will come soon, the AP reports. “In a free-market economy there will be good times and bad times” he said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. “We’re going... More »

'Perfect Storm' Batters US Economy

Unpredictable markets continue to feed stagflation fears

(Newser) - A perfect storm of economic maladies has the US economy reeling on the edge of recession and officials struggling to limit the damage it causes, reports the New York Times. But many economists say there isn’t much the government or policy makers can do besides batten down the hatches... More »

JP Morgan, Feds Bail Out Bear Stearns

The investment bank's liquidity crisis forces it to ask for emergency help

(Newser) - Bear Sterns has reached out to rival JP Morgan Chase and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York for emergency funding to reassure investors concerned about the struggling investment bank's deteriorating liquidity, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move is a startling indicator of how hard the subprime virus has... More »

Hotline for At-Risk Loans Not So Helpful

Subprime victims find Hope Now Alliance doesn't live up to billing

(Newser) - A hotline aimed at helping distressed mortgage borrowers is frequently overwhelmed by caller volume and rarely able to provide substantive aid, MSNBC reports. The Hope Now Alliance—a group of lenders and community groups heavily promoted by President Bush—is designed to improve lender-borrower communication and modify mortgages, most commonly... More »

Feds Outline New, Tougher Credit Rules

Paulson pushes stricter standards for mortgage lenders

(Newser) - A panel led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is seeking a major overhaul of rules affecting mortgage lenders and a credit market decimated by risky subprime loans and loose oversight, the Wall Street Journal reports. Among panel recommendations to be released today:
  • Strengthen mortgage lender and broker oversight
  • Establish licensing
... More »

Home-Equity Loans Latest to Bite Banks

Even lenders that dodged subprime chaos suffering big trickle-down losses

(Newser) - Home-equity loan defaults are soaring, the Wall Street Journal reports, as the trickle-down effect of the subprime mortgage crisis makes its way into what was once a source of big profits for lenders. JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo both escaped major writedowns on subprime mortgages gone bad, but already... More »

As Margin Calls Mount, Carlyle Holds 'Crisis Talks'

Private equity giant's subsidiary imperiled

(Newser) - The Carlyle Group is holding emergency talks with lenders to try to save its drowning Carlyle Capital division, the Washington Post reports. Creditors have decided that Carlyle’s portfolio of traditionally safe mortgage-backed securities holdings isn’t good enough in the current market, and they're demanding $400 million more in... More »

FBI Probes Countrywide for Fraud

Feds seek evidence that subprime lender lied about quality of loans

(Newser) - The FBI has launched a securities fraud investigation against subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial for allegedly lying to investors about its financial status and the quality of its mortgage loans, reports the Wall Street Journal. The probe could extend to Wall Street firms that helped package more than $100 billion... More »

Mortgage Crisis a Boon to ID Thieves

As mortgage companies fail, confidential info gets tossed, not shredded

(Newser) - Homeowners whose lenders have been caught by the subprime mortgage debacle may face increased risks of becoming victims of identity theft, reports MSNBC. Borrowers at some mortgage companies that have gone out of business are finding that their confidential records—income statements, credit cards and social security numbers—get tossed... More »

Subprime Lender CEOs Defend Exec Pay

Merrill, Citi and Countrywide honchos cashed in as companies foundered

(Newser) - Banking executives who took home huge paychecks even as the subprime mortgage crisis battered their companies appeared before Congress today to defend their actions. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee grilled them about their enormous pay packages as Republicans apologized to them and questioned the premise of the hearing, the... More »

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