Note 13 - Income Taxes Income Tax Details (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 percentagepoint	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 22, 2014
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Accrued Income Taxes, Current	$ 132,800,000
Income Taxes Receivable, Current	3,500,000
Operating Loss Carryforwards	1,500,000,000
Foreign tax credit carryforward	6,015,000		6,015,000
Alternative minimum tax credit carryforward	2,286,000		0
State net operating loss carryforward	34,851,000		33,095,000
Number of Years Used in Cumulative Loss Position Calculation	3 years
Cumulative Loss Position	16,000,000	2,800,000,000
Valuation Allowance, Amount	17,874,000		858,635,000
Percentage of Stock Ownership Needed to Be Included in Calculation of Change in Control Under Section 382 of Internal Revenue Code of 1986	5.00%
Number of Basis Point Increase in Ownership Over Three Year Period Needed By the Entity's Five Percent Shareholders	50
Number of Years (Rolling) Used for Calculating Percentage Change in Ownership for Change in Control	3 years
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination, Amount of Claimed Income Tax Refund Being Disallowed for Tax Years 2006 and 2007	105,000,000
REMIC Residual [Member] | Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Income Tax Examination, Notice of Deficiency, Amounts Related to Unpaid Taxes and Penalties	157,000,000
Income Tax Examination, Estimated Interest on Notice of Deficiency Amounts	115,000,000
Income Tax Examination, Proposed State Liabilities Resulting from IRS Examination of Tax Years 2000 Through 2007	30,000,000
Sale of Radian Asset Assurance [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Discontinued Operation, Provision for Loss (Gain) on Disposal, before Income Tax	468,000,000
Sale of Radian Asset Assurance [Member] | Parent Company
Operating Loss Carryforwards [Line Items]
Significant Acquisitions and Disposals, Acquisition Costs or Sale Proceeds				790,000,000
Discontinued Operation, Provision for Loss (Gain) on Disposal, before Income Tax	$ 468,000,000