Stocks Plunge 240 In Second-Biggest Drop Of Year

Associated Press MADLEN READ March 13, 2007 04:48 PM

Stocks plunged Tuesday, driving the Dow Jones industrials down more than 240 points in their second-biggest drop of the year as troubles piled up for subprime lenders.

Investors, bracing for a wilting economy, fled the already deflated subprime mortgage sector while problems increased for lenders such as New Century Financial Corp., Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. and General Motors Acceptance Corp.'s residential unit. Bolstering the belief that the problems are widespread, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported that new foreclosures surged to an all-time high in the last quarter of 2006.

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