CNN - "Senator: Fed to blame for subprime crisis" (3-22-07)

"The lawmaker says a pattern of neglect by federal bank regulators contributed to the subprime mortgage crisis."

CNN - "Subprime risk: Most vulnerable markets" (3-22-07)

"2.2 million homeowners are endangered by the subprime crisis. Which markets may be hardest hit?"

Look Out News - "Santa Monica Lender Lays Off 2,400 Workers After Making Shaky Loans" (3-22-07)

"Fremont General confirmed Tuesday that nearly 2,400 employees nationwide could lose their jobs by May after the company reported it was withdrawing from the sub-prime lending market, which offers adjustable interest rates on home loans to those with shaky credit."

Yahoo! - "KB Home Shares Down on Outlook" (3-22-07)

"Shares in Los Angeles homebuilder KB Home fell Thursday after the company warned that excess inventory will likely force lower selling prices at least through the end of the year. The housing sector is beleaguered by a supply overhang built up during a five-year boom that ended 18 months ago. Builders have used heavy incentives and discounts to try to sell through the housing glut, but prices continue to fall as home buyers shy from purchasing any property that might continue to lose value."

Reuters - "Bill may not solve foreclosures woe: key senator" (3-22-07)

"The chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee said on Thursday that he plans legislation on predatory lending, but that the solution to the problem of Americans facing foreclosure on their mortgages may not be legislative."

Market Watch - "Regulators grilled over subprime mortgage woes" (3-22-07)

"Members of the Senate Banking Committee took regulators to task on Thursday for their oversight of the subprime mortgage market, which has imploded in recent months and left behind cash-strapped borrowers and cratered the profits of lenders."

Bloomberg - "Comptroller Says Abusive Loans Fueled Subprime Crisis (Update4)" (3-22-07)

"The OCC and Federal Reserve are among regulators chastised by Congress for enforcement lapses as delinquencies climb and threaten to worsen a housing recession that's weakening the economy. The deteriorating subprime mortgage market -- loans to people with poor or limited credit histories -- has pushed some lenders out of business and forced firms such as Countrywide Financial Corp. to tighten standards."

"Some economists also speculated that the meltdown in subprime mortgages helped persuade the Fed to drop its tilt toward higher interest rates. For the first time since the Fed ended a two-year run of rate increases in August, the central bank yesterday signaled that its next move might be either to lower or raise borrowing costs, instead of just the latter."

Yahoo! - "Countrywide Sees Record Foreclosures" (3-22-07)

"A top executive at Countrywide Financial Corp. said Thursday that dropping home prices could produce record-high levels of foreclosures on loans made in 2006 to people with poor credit histories."

Bloomberg - "Fed Says It Could Have Acted Sooner on Subprime Rout (Update3)" (3-22-07)

"The Federal Reserve could have acted faster to prevent a meltdown in the subprime-mortgage market by curbing the lax lending standards that contributed to the crisis, the Fed's chief bank supervisor said."

MSN - "Countrywide failed subrime loans could be worst" (3-22-07)

"Countrywide's subprime mortgage defaults for 2006 loans may exceed the company's highest on record, a company executive told a government panel examining mortgage lending. Countrywide's "worst single origination year was 2000, for which the cumulative foreclosure rate was 9.89 percent," Sandor Samuels, the company's executive managing director, said in prepared remarks."

Reuters - "California alert for mortgage rescue scams" (3-22-07)

"California prosecutors are on guard for mortgage rescue scams in which lenders target borrowers who may foreclose on failing home loans amid the subprime mortgage meltdown, an official said on Thursday. Defaults of subprime mortgages -- home financing for the riskiest borrowers -- have increased across the United States in recent months, pushing some lenders out of business, forcing others to discontinue the loans and triggering fears of damage to the broader economy. "

Bloomberg - "U.S. Economy: Leading Indicators Index Fell 0.5% (Update2)" (3-22-07)

"Weakening consumer confidence and scaled-back construction plans drove down a measure of the U.S. economy's future course by the most in a year."

CNN - "Subprime lenders push back" (3-22-07)

"Leading lenders tell Senate Committee that loan resets have not led to big jump in defaults. Consumer advocates charge lenders steer clients into unaffordable deals."

Globe and Mail - "Greenspan blamed for subprime crisis" (3-22-07)

"U.S. bank regulators were advocates of exotic mortgages, senator Dodd says"