Prime Time

Like subprime mortgages, many prime loans made in recent years allowed borrowers to pay less initially and face higher adjustable payments a few years later. As long as home prices were rising, these borrowers could refinance their loans or sell their properties to pay off their mortgages. But now, with prices falling and lenders clamping down, homeowners with solid credit are starting to come under the same financial stress as those with subprime credit.

“Subprime was a symptom of the problem,” said James F. Keegan, a bond portfolio manager at American Century Investments, a mutual fund company. “The problem was we had a debt or credit bubble.”

The bursting of that bubble has led to steep losses across the financial industry. American International Group said on Monday that auditors found it may have understated losses on complex financial instruments linked to mortgages and corporate loans.

  NY Times

The Bush administration will announce an expanded plan Tuesday for lenders to help homeowners by temporarily suspending foreclosures for people facing the imminent loss of a home, a source familiar with the plan said Monday.

[...]

The plan, called Project Lifeline, will allow overdue homeowners to suspend foreclosures for 30 days while they try to work out more affordable terms with lenders.

  CNN

And GM wants to buy out the last 74,000 of its auto workers and start from scratch with new employees being paid lower wages with less benefits.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.