Wachovia Corp. has agreed to buy back $8.5 billion in auction-rate securities as part of a wide-ranging investigation by the New York Attorney General and other state regulators.

U.S. foreclosure activity in July rose 55 percent from a year earlier as a slump in once-sizzling housing markets forced yet more borrowers to default on their mortgages.

Bank of America has received subpoenas, while Countrywide Financial Corp, the mortgage lending giant it bought last month, is facing a formal SEC investigation.

Citigroup Inc. will buy back more than $7 billion in auction-rate securities and pay $100 million in fines as part of settlements with federal and state regulators.

Morgan Stanley told thousands of clients this week that they will not be allowed to withdraw money on their home-equity credit lines, according to a news report.

Mortgage giant Freddie Mac’s chief executive dismissed internal warnings that could have protected the company from some of the problems now engulfing it, the New York Times said.

After his mortgage company nearly crashed a decade ago, Michael W. Perry set a new course. He bought a bank so the company, soon rechristened IndyMac Bank, would never run short of money again.

InBev buys an American icon and IndyMac falls. Today's top videos recap the highlights.

Stocks finished lower, led by financials, as investors worried that the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might not be enough to prevent further turmoil in financial markets.

Financials led a market selloff as investors worried that the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac might not be enough to prevent further turmoil in financial markets.

The stock rally triggered by the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fizzled within the first half hour of trading as Wall Street wonders if it will be enough to settle the turbulent housing market.

With the failure of mortgage lender IndyMac and government rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, CNBC asked the experts about the state of the country's financial system.

The stock rally triggered by the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fizzled within the first half hour of trading as Wall Street wonders if it will be enough to settle the turbulent housing market.

A mortgage rescue to help hundreds of thousands of struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure and get more affordable, safer loans passed the Senate overwhelmingly Friday, but it faces a bumpy road amid continuing turmoil in the housing market.

A long-stalled mortgage rescue inched Thursday toward Senate passage, only to be sent back to the House for more votes and intense negotiations to resolve disputes.