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Wall Street's Mortgage Troubles

For the mortgage industry, Wall Street’s big investment banks might seem like one of those friends who disappear when the going gets tough. It wasn’t that long ago that the investment houses, looking for ways to cash in on the then-booming housing industry, were buying mortgage lenders at a frenetic pace. The story now is […]

Hedge-fund redemption shock

Investors are expected to hit hedge funds with a flood of redemption requests this fall, but those who try to withdraw their money may be in for an unpleasant surprise. Most hedge funds have “lock-ups,” a minimum period of time during which investors agree to tie up their money and not make any withdrawals. Once […]

How Rating Firms’ Calls Fueled Subprime Mess

In 2000, Standard & Poor’s made a decision about an arcane corner of the mortgage market. It said a type of mortgage that involves a “piggyback,” where borrowers simultaneously take out a second loan for the down payment, was no more likely to default than a standard mortgage. While its pronouncement went unnoticed outside the […]

Valuations In Spotlight As Funds Halt Redemptions

Fund managers and banks are under scrutiny for their methods in valuing illiquid securities, after some funds admitted they’re having trouble putting a price on complex debt instruments backed by residential mortgages and corporate loans. Units of French bank BNP Paribas SA (BNPQY) and insurer AXA SA (AXA) have suspended redemptions on some of their […]

Bear Stearns Caymans Filing May Hurt Funds’ Creditors

Bear Stearns Cos.’ decision to liquidate two bankrupt hedge funds in the Cayman Islands instead of New York may limit creditors’ and investors’ ability to get their money back. While most of their assets are in New York, the funds filed for bankruptcy protection July 31 in a court in the Caymans, where they are […]