The "Understatement of the Month Award" goes to HSBC Chief Executive Officer Michael Geoghegan, who in a March 5 conference call said, "This is not a stable market."
Yesterday saw serious tremors in the market. Stocks of lenders and homebuilders alike were pulled down in large part due to the news from New Century Financial:
New Century Financial Corp., the nation’s second-biggest subprime lender, said yesterday that it doesn’t have the cash to pay creditors who are demanding their money, increasing speculation that the company will go bankrupt.New Century said all of its lenders have cut funding or announced their intent to halt financing because the subprime mortgage lender failed to make payments.
The New York Stock Exchange halted trading of New Century yesterday while it decides whether to keep listing the company’s securities in light of the liquidity problems.
So how many other lenders are liable to be affected?
