Katrina victims generally received a three- to six-month payment reprieve, but the moratoriums can vary.

CNN: High tides and higher interest rates: Wading through financial storms

In the last few years, more than 50 New York municipalities have banned gas drilling and more than 100 have enacted moratoriums on drilling activities.

WSJ: NY appeals court to consider local fracking bans

Residents for and against development have packed town board meetings for months, with opponents succeeding in persuading boards in dozens of towns to enact bans or moratoriums.

WSJ: NY town sued for banning 'frack' talk at meetings

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is working on an interest-rate freeze with big lenders, and some politicians would go a lot beyond the Paulson plan, with moratoriums on foreclosures.

FORBES: Workout

At 105, the number of countries which have ended capital punishment in law or practice now exceeds the 90 that retain it, and most of these have moratoriums on executions.

ECONOMIST: The cruel and ever more unusual punishment

Dr. Joseph Mason, an economist at Louisiana State University, claims that as many as 20, 000 sorely-needed jobs in this down economy have been lost due to drilling moratoriums in the Gulf of Mexico.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Energy Independence Now

On Wednesday, the chief executives of eight major banks told lawmakers they will suspend foreclosures, and on Friday JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup extended their moratoriums into early March, or at least until the details of the Obama plan come out.

FORBES: Magazine Article

In the past couple of years, dozens of localities, anticipating that the state will eventually allow drilling, have enacted local bans or moratoriums on drilling at the request of residents who have petitioned town boards saying such heavy industrial activity is inconsistent with the community character and that they fear potential health and environmental risks.

WSJ: 3rd NY town wins in court over fracking ban