U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said today the he is confident a deal will soon be reached on temporarily freezing mortgage rates to avoid thousands of home foreclosures. The plan to freeze interest rates on some subprime mortgages is being negotiated by the Treasury Department and the mortgage industry, but some investors fear losses and analysts say the move could prolong the subprime mortgage crisis. An estimated 2 million subprime mortgages with adjustable interest rates, valued at $362 billion, could reset at higher rates by the end of 2008, pushing the typical home loan payment up by $350 a month, to $1,550. Some government officials are pushing for a five-to-seven-year freeze, but investors want a shorter period of no more than two years. more [AP via ABC] and more [WSJ]