SACRAMENTO Subprime home loans subject to tighter rules The California Assembly has approved legislation that attempts to head off more housing foreclosures by putting some restrictions on the use of subprime loans.

NEW YORK, April 16 -- J.P. Morgan Chase, which previously escaped largely unscathed from severe problems in the mortgage market, reported Wednesday that its first-quarter profit fell by half, showing how credit troubles in subprime home loans are now spreading to other types of consumer and business debt.

More than $23.6 billion in California housing wealth will evaporate if real estate prices continue to decline and foreclosures on subprime home loans soar, according to a new congressional report that indicates the fallout from the national mortgage crisis is...