1. Recently issued subprime mortgages are in a lot of trouble. For loans written in 2006 the default rates six months after mortgages were issued are two or three times higher than defaults at the same stage among loans written in 2005.

2. At least 13.5 percent of subprime borrowers were either behind on payments or in foreclosure.

3. The Federal Reserve reported yesterday that 2.11 percent of residential loans held by banks were delinquent at the end of 2006, the highest that figure has been since 2002.

4. In 2000, in the U.S., there just under $5 trillion of outstanding mortgage debt. In 2006, there was just under $10 trillion.