There are lots of bogeymen in the subprime crisis — lenders, brokers, investors, even homeowners. And here's another one: credit rating agencies. Kim Clark of U.S. News and World Report explains their role.
Some in Congress and the mortgage industry want the government to allow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy up bigger loans. So far, no deal. Stacey Vanek-Smith reports on how that's affecting potential homebuyers in some of the country's most expensive housing markets.
Allan Sloan says subprime is too nice a word for the high-risk mortgages that were bundled then sliced and diced and served up to investors. He says maybe they'd have thought twice before buying into garbage mortgages… or maybe not.
With markets and investors in something of a state of panic, we turn to industry insiders King Penniman and Bill O'Grady to explain what's happening and who's ultimately responsible for this mess.
Some people have been "shorting" the companies that created and financed the subprime mortgage debacle. Steve Tripoli has been asking whether there's still time for a profitable bet against the architects of subprime.
At a news conference, President Bush made it clear what he thinks of a higher gas tax to fix the nation's infrastructure. He also fielded a larger-than-usual array of questions about the state of the U.S. economy.
Wall Street is hoping the subprime mortgage crisis won't spread. But Bear Sterns' debt rating got downrated today, and some economists aren't sure the problem has been contained. Steve Henn reports.
The announcement that American Home Mortgage will drastically cut operations and lay off 7,000 may be just the beginning of a crisis in the U.S. lending market. Steve Henn reports on how deep the problem goes.
After decades of violence, Northern Ireland's Catholic and Protestant parties finally signed a peace deal in 1998. The changes since haven't been just political. The region is also experiencing an unprecedented housing boom. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
Florida was already in the middle of its most intense hurricane season when Katrina hit. When private insurers backed away from the state's market, government-backed insurance stepped in. Dan Grech reports.
