Technical Hitch Causes FTSE Confusion The London Stock Exchange (LSE) was forced to extend its closing auction by more than an hour after traders’ screens froze at 3.50pm because of technical problems.... Read Full Article Bhutto Death Prompts Investor Flight To Safety Oil and gold prices surged today in the hours following the death of Pakistan’s opposition leader, Benazir Bhutto, as investors sought out safe assets in the face of escalating political tensions.... Read Full Article Memo From Islamabad: As Pakistan’s Chief Looks Ahead, Army Holds The Cards What the army thinks about a political logjam, and what it decides to do, will be the defining factor in Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s future, most commentators agree.... Read Full Article Finding Political News Online, The Young Pass It On Younger voters tend to be not just consumers of news but conduits as well, sending out links and videos to friends.... Read Full Article A G.O.P. Senator Charts A Middle Path Senator Lamar Alexander is opposed to a fixed withdrawal but wants a change of mission.... Read Full Article |
General Electric To Sell WMC Mortgage, A Subprime Loan UnitGeneral Electric will abandon the subprime mortgage market by selling the companys unit that makes loans to borrowers with weak credit histories. The decision to sell the unit, WMC Mortgage, was announced by the company yesterday in an e-mail message to employees, and confirmed by a person who had read it. The current subprime market environment has had a negative impact on the business, Laurent Bossard, chief executive of unit, wrote in the memo. Russell Wilkerson, a spokesman for the company declined, to comment on the memo or sale. Defaults in the subprime market have exploded this year, causing more than 50 subprime lenders to shut their doors. General Electric entered the subprime market three years ago. In the past year, WMC Mortgage laid off more than 1,200 workers, reducing its staff to about 700. In the years first quarter, the company announced that it had made just $3.4 billion in new loans, down from $9 billion in the preceding quarter. The company has been aggressively selling loans on its books, decreasing its portfolio by $3 billion, and leaving the unit with less than $1.5 billion. Analysts said that it was unlikely G.E. had already identified a buyer, but that the company had hired Morgan Stanley as advisers in the sale. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationCrackdown bid on property ads...Wasserstein May Sell Stake in Publishing Company... Super fund and partner buy child care sites... Only one answer to the Rock regulatory problem... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - General Electric To Sell WMC Mortgage, A Subprime Loan Unit |
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