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Subprime Collapse

Started by D Lim; Last updated Feb 29, 08 6:23 AM CST by Imperator | View history

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Subprime Collapse

From the housing market to hedge funds, as the subprime market goes belly up, America's thirst for cheap cash is coming back to haunt speculators

Stories

Stories 101 - 120 of 530

<< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 ... 27 Next >>

May 2008
- Big Fannie Mae Losses Prompt Fears of Failure
  
  New York Times | May 6, 08 8:16 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fannie Mae lost a worse-than-expected $2.2 billion this quarter, forcing it to cut its dividend and seek $6 billion in capital. The news is especially troubling as Fannie and Freddie Mac, the companies Washington relies on to keep the housing market functioning, are under unprecedented pressure, the New York Times reports. Many are now worried that one or both of them, after stepping in to rescue a torrent of troubled mortgages, may soon need bailouts themselves. More »
- UBS Cuts 5,500 Jobs, Sells Off $15B in Assets
  
  Wall Street Journal | May 6, 08 5:52 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - UBS will cut 5,500 jobs, slightly fewer than expected, by the middle of 2009 as part of a major restructuring effort, the troubled Swiss bank said today in announcing an $11-billion first-quarter loss. Some 2,600 of the layoffs will be among investment bankers, mostly in London and New York. UBS will also sell off $15 billion in mortgage-backed securities to BlackRock and plans further sales of its mortgage holdings in the future. More »
- US Must Stop Foreclosures, Bernanke Warns
  
  Los Angeles Times | May 6, 08 2:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke yesterday called for government intervention to halt home foreclosures, warning that to do nothing could "destabilize communities, reduce property values of nearby homes, and lower tax revenues." Bernanke said in a speech in New York that a million Americans were already three months behind in mortgage payments at the beginning of this year, threatening dire consequences for the future of the economy, reports the Los Angeles Times . More »
- UBS to Lay Off 8,000, Add $11.4B to Writedowns
  
  Bloomberg | May 5, 08 6:25 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Swiss banking giant UBS will lay off some 10% of its 83,000 workforce and scale back its investment banking arm in an attempt to reassure shareholders that it's taking actions to curtail losses associated with the subprime debacle, reports Bloomberg. Switzerland's largest bank says it will detail a further $11.4 billion in first-quarter writedowns in its earnings report tomorrow—bringing the total to $38 billion over the past three quarters. More »
- Bankrupt, Linens 'n Things Will Fold 120 Stores
  
  MarketWatch | May 2, 08 5:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Linens 'n Things filed for bankruptcy protection today, MarketWatch reports, and plans to close 120 stores nationwide as other operations continue. "The significant deterioration in the mortgage, housing and credit markets and the resulting impact on the retail marketplace, particularly the home sector, has overwhelmed the operating and merchandising improvements that we have made over the past two years," the company's new chairman said. More »
- French PM Lobbies US on Weak Economy
  
  Associated Press | May 2, 08 8:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - While Nicolas Sarkozy struggles with the sputtering French economy at home, his prime minister has traveled to Washington to spur international action. François Fillon will meet with Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson today, where he is expected to press the US on the subprime crisis, the weak dollar, and the need for an appreciation of the Chinese yuan, reports the AP. More »
- Celebrity Foreclosure: Canseco's Out at Home
  
  Inside Edition | May 1, 08 9:09 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - It can happen to the rich and famous, too: Jose Canseco's mansion is in foreclosure, and he's had to move into more modest digs, Inside Edition reports. Canseco owed more than $2.5 million on the California property his neighbors called the "hotel." He made $30 million in baseball and wrote two best-sellers, but it wasn't enough to save him from becoming a high-profile statistic of the housing collapse. More »
April 2008
- Fed Trims Rate to 2%
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 30, 08 1:31 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As expected, the Federal Reserve cut a key US interest rate today, the Wall Street Journal reports, trimming its overnight rate a quarter-point to 2%. Seven consecutive cuts have the rate down from 5.25% in September as the Fed attempts to keep the economy from stalling under credit woes. "Economic activity remains weak," today's statement says, and markets "remain under considerable stress." More »
- Federal Mortgage Plan Not Helping the Neediest: Critics
  
  New York Times | Apr 29, 08 4:57 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A plan to federally subsidize the refinancing of troubled mortgages has in fact helped relatively few of the most at-risk borrowers, the New York Times reports. Though Bush administration officials said FHA Secure has benefited 150,000, federal statistics show that only 1,729 of those mortgages were delinquent. “They came to us before they got into trouble,” one official said. More »
- Mortgage Biz Battles Fed Reforms
  
  New York Times | Apr 28, 08 7:05 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As the Federal Reserve moves toward stricter lending rules, mortgage providers are firing back, calling the rules too broad and arguing that they could limit loans to borrowers who don't have credit problems, the New York Times reports. Regulation, bankers say, could raise the price of mortgages by increasing paperwork and the risk of lawsuits. The outcry has pushed the Fed to consider narrowing the number of mortgages the rules would apply to. More »
- J'Accuse, Part Deux
  
  New York Times | Apr 27, 08 1:08 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Economist, writer, actor, and lawyer Ben Stein follows up his December excoriation of Goldman Sachs' contribution to the subprime crisis with a look in today's New York Times into how Wall Street executives can get away with reckless behavior at the expense of the public. This time he targets the SEC, which has been so weakened in the Bush administration it quietly loosened the capital requirements for investment banks and "told Wall Street to police itself to save on regulatory costs." More »
- Economic Blues Take Toll on State Budgets
  
  Bloomberg | Apr 25, 08 1:21 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The slumping economy will pummel state budgets in the next fiscal year, leaving them at least $26 billion short, according to a survey from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Payrolls fell drastically in March and consumer confidence is low, a double whammy for state tax revenue. "With a few exceptions, state finances are deteriorating, in some cases considerably,” the survey said. More »
- Consumer Confidence Hits 26-year Low
  
  Reuters | Apr 25, 08 10:59 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Consumer confidence fell to a 26-year low in April, as the public fretted over inflation and housing, Reuters reports. The index fell to 62.6, surpassing the 63.2 analysts had predicted. Nearly 90% said the economy is in recession. Respondents also said they were unlikely to spend their stimulus or tax-rebate checks, planning instead to save them or pay down debt. More »
- First Tax Rebates Go Out Monday
  
  Reuters | Apr 24, 08 2:51 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Treasury is putting its rebate money where its mouth is—ahead of schedule, Reuters reports, with the first wave of checks going out Monday. “We're a little bit ahead of schedule, so we will start right on Monday with direct deposits," Henry Paulson tells Reuters. The Treasury secretary is happy to get cash into Americans’ pockets a little quicker, in order to stave off worsening economic conditions. More »
- New-Home Sales Hit Lowest Level Since '91
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 24, 08 10:53 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - New-home sales fell yet again in March, the Wall Street Journal reports, with single-family sales off 8.5% to an annual rate of 526,000, the lowest level since 1991. Analysts had expected a drop of only 1.9%. The median price, meanwhile, plummeted 13.3%, to $227,600. With an 11-month supply of homes available—the most since 1981—prices will likely continue to fall. More »
- House Panel OKs $15B Plan to Buy Foreclosed Homes
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 24, 08 2:39 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Lawmakers have backed a $15 billion aid package for municipalities so they can buy and fix up foreclosed homes, the Wall Street Journal reports. A House panel voted 38-26 for the measure, which would be split evenly between loans and grants. States could use the money to get vacated homes in shape and filled quickly. It's part of a larger relief measure making its way through the House. More »
- No More Expense-Account Hookers for Deutsche Bank
  
  Independent (UK) | Apr 23, 08 5:10 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In a sign of just how bad the credit crisis has become, Deutsche Bank has forbidden its employees from using expense accounts to pay for brothel visits and hotel porn, the Independent reports. It's unclear if execs have been seeking relief from subprime woes—the German giant has written down $4 billion—in fleshier pleasures, the paper adds. More »
- As Mortgages Melt Down, Owners Burn Up
  
  Los Angeles Times | Apr 21, 08 12:11 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - US homeowners are literally burning down their homes instead of paying their subprime mortgages. Last year saw a dramatic nationwide jump in apparently debt-motivated arson, the Los Angeles Times reports. “I'm busier now than a one-armed paper hanger,” said one investigator. “What is happening is terrifically economically driven.” So far, the numbers are small, but they have insurers on edge. More »
- Bank of America Posts 77% Dive on $6B in Writedowns
  
  Bloomberg | Apr 21, 08 8:00 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - More than $6 billion in subprime writedowns sent Bank of America profits skidding for the third straight quarter today, as the nation's second-largest bank posted a 77% decline in net income for the first quarter. Earnings were $1.21 billion, down from $5.26 billion a year ago, reports Bloomberg. The losses exceeded analysts’ expectations by some 44% and sent market futures into a slide this morning. BofA—in the process of acquiring troubled home lender Countrywide Financial—said revenue slipped 6%. More »
- National City Close to $6B Cash Infusion
  
  Wall Street Journal | Apr 21, 08 7:06 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Battered National City—which has seen shares plummet 78% as it's been overwhelmed by the subprime fiasco—is close to a $6 billion bailout funded by some of its largest shareholders and private equity firm Corsair Capital, reports the Wall Street Journal . The infusion for the Cleveland-based bank would be the third rescue package this month for a struggling bank that offers discounted shares to raise capital. More »

Stories 101 - 120 of 530

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Images (2)
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A for sale sign stands outside a modest bungalow on the market in southeast Denver on Monday, May 7, 2007. Sales of existing homes fell by a larger-than-expected amount in April while the median price... (Associated Press)

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Related Threads

Housing Market • Credit Market Chaos • The Big Banks • Is It Recession? • The Markets • Ben Bernanke • The Dow • Bear Stearns • Merrill Lynch • Fannie & Freddie

Background

Subprime Meltdown
Wikipedia

The subprime mortgage meltdown refers to the rash of subprime mortgage foreclosures that began in the United States in late 2006 and has continued into 2007. The sharp rise in foreclosures has caused several major subprime mortgage lenders, such as New Century Financial Corporation, to shut down or...

» Read more about Subprime Meltdown at Wikipedia

mortgage
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition

mortgage in law, device for protecting a creditor by giving him an interest in property of his debtor. In common law a mortgage was a conditional sale; i.e., the mortgagor (debtor) sold realty (real property mortgage) or personal property (chattel mortgage), but if the debtor paid the debt by ...

» Read more about mortgage at Encyclopedia.com

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