Vulture subprime buyers ramp up purchases

Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:27am EDT

By Jennifer Ablan and Al Yoon - Analysis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The allure of rotting mortgage bonds has grown so strong that Wall Street's vultures have begun picking over their carcasses -- a signal the credit crisis has entered a crucial stage in its vicious cycle.

In the past two months, these intrepid investors have begun betting billions of dollars on a hunch that mortgage security prices have fallen enough. It is a risk few have taken for a year or more as the credit crisis rooted in this very market wreaked havoc in financial markets around the world.