Fremont General to drop secondary sub-prime mortgage business - 2007-02-13
Shares of Fremont General Corp. surged almost 10 percent Tuesday after news that the company would no longer supply second mortgages to home buyers who need to borrow their down payment. Fremont is a sub-prime mortgage lender that issues both first mortgages and second, or "piggyback" mortgages, that supply the 20 percent of the purchase price for those who want to borrow 100 percent.
Read the full story at San Jose Mercury News

Handle the subprime mortgage market with care - 2007-02-13
The smart money now says the general U.S. housing market is not in a bubble. But at least one part of the market certainly looks pretty bubbly, the mushrooming "subprime" mortgage market for borrowers who can't obtain standard loans. Now that bubble seems about to pop. On Wednesday, the large mortgage firm HSBC Holdings, a big player in the subprime market, said its bad debts are more than $10.5 billion for 2006.
Read the full story at NorthJersey.com