Mortgage chiefs huddle on loan woes

Mortgage-industry executives worked to hammer out details of a homeowner rescue plan that would freeze interest rates on some U.S. subprime mortgages for up to seven years, but questions remained over how to avoid investor lawsuits and other legal challenges.

The negotiations among lenders, servicers, investor groups, regulators and other parties were aimed at allowing U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. to announce a framework for the plan Monday, with full details expected Wednesday, said a mortgage sector source involved in the talks.