Note 7 - Investments Investments Trading Securities (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2013 Securities (Assets)	Dec. 31, 2012 Securities (Assets)	Dec. 31, 2013 US government and agency securities	Dec. 31, 2012 US government and agency securities	Dec. 31, 2013 State and municipal obligations	Dec. 31, 2012 State and municipal obligations	Dec. 31, 2013 Corporate bonds and notes	Dec. 31, 2012 Corporate bonds and notes	Dec. 31, 2013 RMBS	Dec. 31, 2012 RMBS	Dec. 31, 2013 CMBS	Dec. 31, 2012 CMBS	Dec. 31, 2013 Other ABS	Dec. 31, 2012 Other ABS	Dec. 31, 2013 Foreign government securities		Dec. 31, 2012 Foreign government securities		Dec. 31, 2013 Hybrid Instrument [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Hybrid Instrument [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Equity securities	Dec. 31, 2012 Equity securities	Dec. 31, 2013 Other investments	Dec. 31, 2012 Other investments	Aug. 31, 2013 First Lien Position [Member] 2013 Freddie Mac Agreement [Member] Primary Mortgage Product [Member] Mortgage Insurance Segment	Dec. 31, 2013 Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain and Hungary Government Securities [Member] Foreign government securities country	Dec. 31, 2012 Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain and Hungary Government Securities [Member] Foreign government securities country
Schedule of Trading Securities and Other Trading Assets [Line Items]
Trading securities—at fair value	$ 3,117,429,000	$ 4,094,622,000				$ 393,815,000	$ 428,519,000	$ 595,070,000	$ 669,975,000	$ 1,024,574,000	$ 1,357,175,000	$ 487,239,000	$ 663,307,000	$ 288,895,000	$ 237,294,000	$ 195,816,000	$ 254,102,000	$ 40,657,000	[1]	$ 117,686,000	[1]	$ 0	$ 211,944,000	$ 90,604,000	$ 153,722,000	$ 759,000	$ 898,000		$ 0	$ 0
Trading Securities, Unrealized Holding Gain	(175,841,000)	(49,815,000)	126,539,000	140,900,000	29,800,000
Number Of Stressed European Countries																													6	6
Restricted Investments Held as Collateral for Master Transaction Agreement, Net																												$ 205,000,000

[1] As of December 31, 2013 and 2012, our trading portfolio included no foreign sovereign or sub-sovereign (collectively, “Sovereign”) securities of the six European countries (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, Spain and Hungary) whose Sovereign obligations have been under particular stress due to economic uncertainty, potential restructuring and ratings downgrades or securities of any other countries under similar stress.