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How Are the Mortgage Insurers Still Viable?

By Jim Cramer

 About this article:
 Of all the great mysteries of the stock market, four issues just befuddle me beyond reason. I would love to hear comments here about why they are in business: MBIA , PMI , MGIC and Ambac . Here are companies that reported horrendous losses -- MBIA's $3.50 loss yesterday being a great example -- and still trade as if they are hanging in, doing well, paying claims and very much alive. In fact, they go up on the most horrendous news, just levitate! Last night's MBIA loss is staggering, especially because it was attributed to credit derivatives. The bizarre element of these companies is that they insured so much housing mortgage paper and credit aggregate paper -- CDOs and the like -- that if they could really pay off the mess they insured, the system would be much stronger. The fact that it is down horribly...

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