Mortgage principal reductions are apt to rise soon. Sure, they save some underwater borrowers from drowning, but can they prop up an iffy housing market? The jury's still out, but there are opinions ...

Cutting payments helps stave off default, but principal reduction on underwater loans and lower consumer debt levels are less effective, according to the JPMorgan Chase Institute's new study of ...

For hundreds of thousands of homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages, it's been a tantalizing question: Is there any way that our lender might agree to lower the amount we owe -- not only the ...

Even after reducing debts by nearly half through debt adjustments—such as principal and interest reductions and extended ...