Problems in Alt-A now

As we have believed for some time, problems are not "contained" in subprime.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aMWH1Hs7KYKA&refer=home

July 30 (Bloomberg) -- American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. shares plunged 45 percent after the lender delayed payment of the quarterly dividend and reported ``major'' writedowns of its loan and securities holdings.

The lender specializes in Alt-A mortgages, an alternative for A-rated borrowers who can't satisfy all the terms for a regular ``prime'' mortgage. The company was the 20th-largest Alt-A lender in 2006, according to March data from trade publication Inside Mortgage Finance.

American Home said in June that second-quarter profit would be lower because homeowners didn't keep up with payments, forcing the company to buy back loans that had been sold to investors.