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[BULLION]

It will sink. We will be trading below 12 soon, imo. Read below. Next TMA.
Hop on for the ride down.

NCT bought 2.7 billion in subprime mortgages from LEND

From Briefing.com 20-Mar-07 08:30 ET:

Newcastle Investment Corp. (NCT, 27.46), a New York-based real estate investment trust managed by Fortress Investment Group (FIG, 25.74), said it agreed to buy a $1.7 billion portfolio of about 7,300 subprime mortgages. The news comes just days after Accredited Home Lenders (LEND, 8.95) reached an agreement to sell $2.7 billion of loans to meet margin calls.

The subprime market, which allows buyers who do not meet the strictest lending standards to get mortgages, has experienced a credit crunch in the past week. Many subprime lenders, including New Century Financial, are now facing bankruptcy, as banks and investors respond to an increase in the number of delinquencies and defaults by ordering lenders to buy back loans.

While others are retreating from the subprime market, Newcastle said constrained liquidity and the re-pricing of credit risk in the subprime mortgage market have created an opportunity to buy a portfolio of loans at an attractive price with early payment default protection.

Newcastle did not disclose from which company it is buying the loans, but said it expects the deal to close during the next 30 days. The loans are secured by residential homes located in various regions across the U.S. (take a look at our Briefing Feature for a breakdown of the U.S. housing market by region). The company said 28% of the assets are located in California, 13% in Florida, 10% in New York, and the remaining balance diversified throughout 45 states. Approximately 94% of the portfolio is secured by first liens and 92% of the assets are owner occupied.