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• S&P Sees End to Subprime Mortgage Writedowns Thursday, 13 Mar 2008 | 4:24 PM ET

  

  Subprime mortgage write-downs could reach $285 billion, but an end to the write-downs is  in sight for big financial firms, S&P said.

• Efforts to Help Mortgages, Housing Cheer Investors Thursday, 13 Mar 2008 | 1:51 PM ET

  

  Standard & Poor's helped stocks rebound by saying that an end to subprime mortgage writedowns is in sight for big financial institutions.

• Foreclosure Rate Jumps 60% in February Thursday, 13 Mar 2008 | 7:24 AM ET

  

  Nearly 60 percent more U.S. homes faced foreclosure in February than in the same month last year, with Nevada, California and Florida showing the highest foreclosure rates, a research firm said Wednesday.

• Property Profits Beckon for Smart Investors Thursday, 13 Mar 2008 | 6:13 AM ET

  The subprime crisis may have wiped billions of dollars off the value of global real estate markets, but it is much easier to make money in today's market than a year ago, the joint CEO of RREEF Europe told Reuters.

• Mortgage Industry Facing Tougher Rules: Paulson Thursday, 13 Mar 2008 | 5:17 AM ET

  

  U.S. financial regulators pledged to toughen rules for mortgage brokers, lenders and credit agencies in a bid to ease a credit crunch.

• Pricey London Property Looking Better Value Wednesday, 12 Mar 2008 | 6:59 AM ET

  London is still by far Europe's priciest business location, but the cost of buying an office, as opposed to leasing one, is now greater in Madrid, Paris, Dublin, Munich, Barcelona, and Stockholm, according to a report issued on Wednesday.

• Fed's Kroszner Blasts Banks Over Subprime Crisis Tuesday, 11 Mar 2008 | 10:25 AM ET

  

  In scathing criticism of their failure to understand the risks of the subprime market, a Federal Reserve policymaker on Tuesday lambasted top bankers and called for much more prudence in lending.

• Countrywide Shares Plunge on Report of FBI Probe Monday, 10 Mar 2008 | 11:50 AM ET

  

  The federal authorities have opened a criminal inquiry into Countrywide Financial for suspected securities fraud as part of the continuing fallout over the mortgage crisis, government officials with knowledge of the case said on Saturday.

• Thornburg: Survival at Stake as Margin Calls Pour In Friday, 7 Mar 2008 | 3:44 PM ET

  Thornburg Mortgage on Friday said its survival is at stake because it is unable to meet $610 million of margin calls.

• US 30-Year Mortgage Rates Decline This Week Thursday, 6 Mar 2008 | 2:23 PM ET

  

  Weak economic indicators pushed interest rates on U.S. 30-year mortgages down this week after three consecutive weeks of gains, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Thursday.

• Homeowner Equity Below 50% for First Time Since 1945 Thursday, 6 Mar 2008 | 1:34 PM ET

  

  Americans' percentage of equity in their homes fell below 50 percent for the first time on record since 1945, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

• Thornburg Shares Nosedive on 'Material' Defaults Wednesday, 5 Mar 2008 | 6:06 PM ET

  

  Thornburg Mortgage, said on Wednesday, its failure to meet a margin call has triggered defaults under a variety of lending agreements and its obligations under those agreements are "material."

• Merrill Quits Subprime Lending, Cuts 650 Jobs Wednesday, 5 Mar 2008 | 5:12 PM ET

  

  Merrill Lynch said its First Franklin subprime lending unit will stop offering mortgages, resulting in a loss of 650 jobs, and it will try to sell the part of the operation that handles billing and collections.

• Fremont General Plummets on Loan Covenant Worries Tuesday, 4 Mar 2008 | 10:39 AM ET

  Shares of Fremont General plunged to an all-time low on Tuesday after the real estate lender said it didn't believe it would be compliant with a loan covenant because of write-downs in its fourth quarter.

• Thornburg Stock Plunges On Bankruptcy Worries Monday, 3 Mar 2008 | 4:01 PM ET

  Thornburg Mortgage on Monday said it has suffered $270 million of new margin calls and failed to meet many of them, raising speculation the lender might file for bankruptcy.

• Housing Crisis Puts Off First-Time Buyers Monday, 3 Mar 2008 | 1:08 PM ET

  

  With home prices falling and families losing their homes to foreclosure, some people see greater security in renting..

• Countrywide Sees Potential for More Credit Losses Monday, 3 Mar 2008 | 8:25 AM ET

  Countrywide Financial, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, said it may see more credit losses as downward trends in the economy and in the real estate market conspire to boost delinquency rates.

• Paulson Slams Mortgage Relief Plans Friday, 29 Feb 2008 | 1:45 PM ET

  

  Plans for sweeping federal programs that would aid troubled mortgage borrowers would bring unfair relief to speculators and reward investors who made bad bets, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Thursday.

• Mortgage Rates Rise Again In Latest Blow to Housing Thursday, 28 Feb 2008 | 1:55 PM ET

  

  If you're thinking of buying a house or refinancing your mortgage, you might want to wait a bit longer.

• Bush Voices Concern About Slowing US Economy Thursday, 28 Feb 2008 | 11:07 AM ET

  

  The U.S. economy is in a slowdown but not headed into a recession, President Bush said Thursday after new data showed slow fourth-quarter growth and a bigger-than-expected jump in unemployment claims.