The U.S. Securities and Exchange will issue an emergency rule later Tuesday to stop "naked" short selling in major financial firms, including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the SEC said.

Erin Callan, the former CFO of Lehman Brothers, is leaving the firm to join Credit Suisse, people with knowledge of the matter say.

Hedge fund manager William Ackman said Tuesday mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are not as well capitalized as their executives say they are.

Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Richard Fuld is considering ways to take the Wall Street investment bank private, the New York Post reported on Tuesday.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary could make greater progress toward a safer financial system by putting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into federal receivership, the Wall Street Journal said on Tuesday.

Centro Properties Group, a high-profile Australian victim of the global credit crunch, is selling almost all of the shopping malls in its Centro America Fund for $714 million, using the cash to pay down debt.

With worries about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac looming over banks, homebuyers should probably lock in a mortgage rate now.

Shares of National City and Washington Mutual plummeted more than 25 percent, leading financial stocks lower Monday, amid fears about bank stability and the future of the mortgage market.

Congress needs to step in and reform a banking industry that has caused a crisis of confidence in the stock market, the economy and the public, Sen. Christopher Dodd said on CNBC.

The U.S. Federal Reserve Monday passed rules aimed at cracking down on misleading and deceptive practices in the mortgage lending industry, including a ban on prepayment penalties for many risky loans.

Buyers flocked to Freddie Mac's $3 billion debt sale just hours after the U.S. government pledged support for the nation's top mortgage finance agencies, but the steps failed to stem growing alarm on Wall Street.

Bill Gross, manager of top bond fund Pimco, said on Sunday the U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve are engineering a "bailout" for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and added that the ailing U.S. mortgage finance giants will likely need to sell preferred stock once approved by government officials.

More U.S. banks may fail after the collapse of mortgage lender IndyMac, further straining the financial system.

The United States offered massive aid to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to bolster confidence in the mortgage finance giants and head off a potential meltdown in financial markets.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Freddie Mac chief Richard Syron that his company and Fannie Mae could take advantage of the emergency discount window, according to two sources familiar with the conversation between Bernanke and Syron