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To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (64372)	3/13/2007 3:52:12 AM
From: mishedlo	Respond to of 116555

New Century's woes deepen, spread Troubled mortgage lender on the hook for $8.4 billion as financing vanishes. Top Wall Street firms, home prices could take hit. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Embattled mortgage lender New Century Financial Corp. warned Monday of a series of serious financial problems that cast its future in doubt - and cast a pall over much of the nation's financial sector. The problems at New Century, No. 2 in lending to borrowers with weak credit, could also weigh on the nation's struggling housing market - and home prices - as a major source of mortgage financing dries up. Overall, lenders in the so-called subprime sector made $640 billion in mortgage loans last year, about a fifth of the total mortgage market and nearly double the amount from 2003. Irvine, Calif.-based New Century said that all of its own lenders are cutting off financing, that it has been found in default of many of its financial agreements, and that it does not have the funds necessary to meet its obligations, which could reach $8.4 billion. The company's market value has shriveled to only $178 million. ... money.cnn.com

To: Haim R. Branisteanu who wrote (64372)	3/13/2007 3:56:27 AM
From: mishedlo	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 116555

US housing "bloodbath" CHICAGO, March 12 (Reuters) - Renae Gorney sees the human side of the slumping U.S. housing market, the people whose homes are part of the $1 trillion worth of unconventional mortgages that are about to get more expensive. Gorney, director of loss mitigation at Freedom Foreclosure Prevention Services in Mesa, Arizona, receives more than 300 applications a month from people facing foreclosure, and has little faith in forecasters who say the worst of the housing market downturn is over. "It's going to be a bloodbath this year," she said. Many of her clients -- homeowners who come for help renegotiating mortgage terms or to work out deals to avoid foreclosure -- have adjustable-rate mortgages that initially carried lower interest rates but will soon spike up. The Mortgage Bankers Association estimates that between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion in adjustable-rate mortgages face an interest rate reset this year. As the housing market cools and homeowners have trouble refinancing or selling, more people are falling behind on mortgage payments. The delinquency rate for all types of mortgages rose to 4.67 percent in the third quarter of 2006 from 4.39 percent in the prior three months, a gain of 6 percent, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. Foreclosures last year were up 42 percent from 2005 levels, and will likely rise another 20 percent to 25 percent this year, real estate information service RealtyTrac Inc. says. .... yahoo.reuters.com