The Boston Globe reports that credit card companies have been targeting subprime mortgage holders.

The evidence is stunning. Direct mail credit card offers to subprime customers in the US jumped 41% during 2007's first half, compared with the first half in 2006. By contrast, direct mail offers targeted at customers with the best credit fell 13%. During this same period, defaults on subprime mortgages rose significantly -- in June, nearly 20% of subprime mortgages were at least 60 days past due, and more than 1 in 20 were in foreclosure.

The leaders in selling higher interest rate credit cards to the financially vulnerable includes some subprime mortgage leaders. Here's a partial list:

In what was billed as the speech of his career, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke told investors that he will continue to keep a steady hand on the nation's economy and that he wants the markets to sort out their problems with a minimum of government involvement. Any rate cut may not come as quickly or be as dramatic as some on Wall Street expect.

'It's not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve--nor would it be appropriate--to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions," the text of his speech given today says. "But developments in financial markets can have broad economic effects felt by many outside the markets, and the Federal Reserve must take those effects into account when determining policy."

The stock market, which had risen this morning ahead of the speech, pared back some of its gains. Last I checked, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 62.19 points to 13,300.92 and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 16.75 to 2,582.85.