(This is Part 3 of a five-part series. See Part 1 and Part 2.)

In the first two articles in this series, I explained the immediate cause of turmoil in the subprime market as the ending...

(This is Part 2 of a five-part series. See Part 1.)

In the first article in this series, I pointed to the ending of house-price appreciation as the immediate cause of turmoil in the subprime market. The rise in delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures has been ...

Extensive payment problems among subprime mortgage borrowers, along with the failure of a number of subprime lenders, have been major news topics in recent months. Speculation about the causes of the defaults has been widespread. That is the topic of this article.

Future articles will consider why so many lenders have failed, the impact...

The term "silent second" is used to describe self-serving or perhaps fraudulent schemes where house sellers accept second mortgages as part of a sale transaction, without the full knowledge of the first mortgage lender. The "silence" refers to the absence of full disclosure to the first mortgage lender.

The smaller of the frauds arises when...