subprime crisis

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FCC: Economy Could Dampen Wireless Sale

In credit crunch, smaller bidders face capital shortage

(Newser) - FCC head Kevin Martin registered concern this week about the impact of the credit crunch on the government auction of wireless airwaves scheduled to begin Jan. 24, Reuters reports. The auction, which Congress has ordered to go forward, comes at a time when the meltdown of housing and subprime mortgage...

Court Limits Investors' Suits Over Fraud

Justices side with big business in important securities case

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today made it harder for defrauded investors to sue to get their money back. The court limited the ability of investors to sue third parties—accountants, bankers, and lawyers, for example—who help a company commit securities fraud. The 5-3 ruling, considered one of the most important...

Greenspan Signs On With Mortgage Profiteer

Ex-Fed honcho will advise hedge fund

(Newser) - Paulson & Co. made a fortune as the mortgage crisis unfolded, and now the hedge fund has hired the man some say caused the meltdown. Alan Greenspan, whose actions as chairman of the Fed have been under fire lately, today agreed to advise the firm, which saw one fund rise...

Citi Takes $9.83B Loss, $18B in Writedowns

Record Q4 loss offset by $14.5B cash infusion from Singapore, Kuwait

(Newser) - Citigroup announced $18 billion in writedowns and a $9.83-billion fourth-quarter loss today as a relentless torrent of mortgage defaults has brought the banking giant to its knees. The $1.99-per-share loss is the largest in Citi’s 196-year history, Bloomberg reports. Citi, struggling to recapitalize, also reported US and...

Investigators Ask: Did Banks Withhold Info?

Banks hid risk of bundled 'exception' loans, insiders say

(Newser) - Prosecutors are probing Wall Street banks to see if they ever revealed the risky nature of certain subprime mortgage investments, the New York Times reports. Industry experts are accusing the banks of turning high-risk loans, called exceptions, into investments without divulging details to investors and credit-rating agencies. One probe, led...

Merrill's $15B Write-Down Nearly Doubles Estimate

Latest loss, driven by mortgage woes, dwarfs original figure

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch will announce $15 billion in losses stemming from mortgage investments, figure twice its earlier forecast, the New York Times reports. The firm is expected to raise $4 billion quickly from outside investors. New CEO John Thain, who has already sold a $5.6 billion stake to a Singapore...

Bank of America Buys Countrywide for $4B

Stock package saves nation's largest mortgage lender

(Newser) - Bank of America, five months after throwing a $2 billion lifeline to rapidly sinking Countrywide Financial, will pay nearly $4 billion in stock to save the damaged mortgage lender. The deal makes BofA the nation's largest mortgage lender and loan servicer and should help build a bulwark against the still-spreading...

Cap One Cuts Earnings Forecast
Cap One
Cuts Earnings Forecast
Jan 10, 2008 6:46 AM CST

Cap One Cuts Earnings Forecast

Mortgage woes spread to credit card, car loan giant

(Newser) - The nation’s largest independent credit card issuer, facing worsening loan troubles and a struggling US economy, says it will cut its 2007 profit forecast 20%. Capital One Financial 's news is another indicator that the mortgage crisis is infecting other loans, the Wall Street Journal notes; the company is...

More Trouble Has Countrywide Teetering

Mortgage lender sees stock dive again as foreclosures rise

(Newser) - After its stock plunged yesterday on rumors it might declare bankruptcy, mortgage giant Countrywide Financial was its shares fall to a 12-year low today on news that foreclosures and late payments were up last month, Bloomberg reports. The subprime collapse has forced the company to lay off thousands, and it's...

Financials Send Stocks Sliding
Financials Send Stocks Sliding
MARKETS
Jan 8, 2008 3:40 PM CST

Financials Send Stocks Sliding

Citigroup, Countrywide lead downward trend

(Newser) - Stocks plunged today as financials dragged down the markets. Countrywide reeled despite releasing statements denying it was preparing to file for bankruptcy protection. "You can't really have a healthy market without healthy financials," a trader told the Wall Street Journal. The Dow was down 238.42 to 12,...

Bush Cops to Economic Uncertainty
Bush Cops
to Economic Uncertainty
Jan 8, 2008 6:00 AM CST

Bush Cops to Economic Uncertainty

Without uttering the 'R word,' prez allows, 'Americans are anxious'

(Newser) - Rising oil prices, a crashing job market, and a tenacious mortgage crisis have created “economic challenges” for the US, President Bush said in Chicago yesterday, a shift from his insistence that the economy is fundamentally strong. While acknowledging “Americans are anxious about the economy,” Bush stopped short...

A Rocky 2008 Forecast for Consumer Tech
A Rocky 2008 Forecast for Consumer Tech
OPINION
Jan 3, 2008 2:36 PM CST

A Rocky 2008 Forecast for Consumer Tech

Subprime jitters, lack of new gadgets may mean bad year for buying

(Newser) - As the tech industry prepares for two huge events—the Consumer Electronics Show and Macworld—MarketWatch’s Therese Poletti takes a look at the year ahead, and has little nice to say about consumers’ continued appetite for buying. Few big products are expected to debut—“the commonly stated mantra...

Home Prices Suffer Record Monthly Drop

October figures exceed gloomy estimates, show continued slump

(Newser) - Home prices plummeted 6.1% in October, a record year-over-year drop that exceeded forecasts. The index of prices in 20 major markets has dropped every month this year and fell 1.4% from the September figure, another record. The trend threatens overall consumer spending, making it more difficult for homeowners...

Fed Cracks Down on Loose Lending
Fed Cracks Down on
Loose Lending
Dec 18, 2007 7:43 PM CST

Fed Cracks Down on Loose Lending

Unanimous vote marks historic shift toward regulation

(Newser) - Seeking to avoid another subprime meltown, the Federal Reserve cracked down on mortgage lending today by a unanimous 5-0 vote, the Wall Street Journal reports. If approved next year, the Fed proposals will require creditors to consider borrowers' financial and credit status, but will not prohibit prepayment penalties altogether, a...

Bush Mortgage Plan Arrives
Bush Mortgage Plan Arrives
Dec 6, 2007 3:01 PM CST

Bush Mortgage Plan Arrives

1.2M homes at risk in crisis could be saved, he says; critics charge it's not enough

(Newser) - The White House today released its plan to help homeowners threatened by the subprime crisis, asserting 1.2 million could be helped—but only 240,000 of 2.2 million rate resets due next year are covered, CNN reports. The five-year interest rate freeze doesn’t apply to borrowers 30...

Citigroup Readies Layoffs, Round Two
Citigroup Readies Layoffs,
Round Two
Nov 26, 2007 11:01 AM CST

Citigroup Readies Layoffs, Round Two

Big losses mean big job cuts

(Newser) - Citigroup is planning "massive" new layoffs, CNBC reports, less than a year after the financial giant cut 17,000 jobs. After announcing that it may have to write down as much as  $11 billion more in mortgage losses, Citigroup has been looking for ways to cut costs, as well...

Freddie Mac Loses $2B, Seeks Cash
Freddie Mac Loses $2B, Seeks Cash
Nov 20, 2007 8:51 AM CST

Freddie Mac Loses $2B, Seeks Cash

No. 2 mortgage lender's capital is close to regulatory minimum

(Newser) - Freddie Mac, the second-largest US mortgage lender, lost $2.02 billion this quarter, its worst quarter ever, the company said this morning. With core capital almost below its regulatory minimum, the company is looking for fast cash, hiring Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers to help bail it out, and “...

How To Lose Your Home Without Missing a Payment

Renters out in the cold in mortgage crisis

(Newser) - When landlords default on risky subprime loans, renters are the ones left out in the cold, the New York Times reports. Thousands of renters have lost their homes, usually little suspecting they were living on precariously-financed ground. “Renters are collateral damage in the mortgage crisis,” said one lawyer....

Goldman Sees $2T Credit Shortfall, Major Slowdown

Nobel winner, investment firm warn of growing risk

(Newser) - The subprime mortgage crisis that has cost financial companies $400 billion and triggered what one banker is calling the worst housing market since the Great Depression will force a $2 trillion credit squeeze that could set off a “substantial recession” in the US, reports Bloomberg. Goldman Sachs said the...

In Thain, Merrill Picks CEO as Risk Manager

Chosen for steady hand in unsteady times

(Newser) - The choice of NYSE's John Thain as Merrill Lynch's new CEO signals a focus on a new kind of manager for the financial giant, the Wall Street Journal observes: a strong risk manager. A low-key, detail-oriented veteran, Thain resembles the top execs of the firms least damaged by the subprime...

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