To much of the public, AIG is a dead company on the government dole. But to investors, it's been something completely different: a cash cow.

Capital reserves of the Federal Housing Administration have fallen well below legally required levels, due to significant losses on home loans made before this year, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan said on Thursday.

The Federal Housing Administration says its financial cushion has dipped to a dangerously low level but should remain above zero under "most economic scenarios."

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.91 percent for the week ending November 12, 2009, down from last week when it averaged 4.98 percent, according to Freddie Mac.

Refinancing drove total U.S. mortgage applications higher last week as fixed borrowing costs fell further below 5 percent, but home purchase demand sank to a nine-year low, an industry group said on Thursday.

Foreclosure rates fell for the third consecutive month in October, but remained sharply higher than a year ago, according to a new report, with analysts cautioning that the improvement was at best temporary.

Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday raised its rating on Nasdaq OMX to investment grade from junk status, citing success in diversifying revenues, integrating mergers and boosting profits.

The US housing market is starting to recover, thanks in part to the government's tax-credit for first-time home buyers, Richard Smith, president & CEO of Realogy, the world's largest brokerage operator, told CNBC

Commercial real estate is somewhere between an orderly massacre and a disaster, William Mack, founder and chairman of Area Property Partners, told CNBC.

Just one in twenty Americans say they plan to buy a home within the next year, and they're most likely to be 34 years old or younger and living in the South or West, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The housing market has improved slightly and prices are starting to stabilize, but we could see another downswing this winter, James Lockhart, vice chairman of WL Ross & Co. and former director of the Federal Housing Financial Agency, told CNBC.

Some 650,000 borrowers have thus far  received a trial loan modification under the Obama administration plan.

About two-thirds of global corporates are not prepared to pay higher rents to take space at "green" buildings, even though 70 percent of them view sustainability as a critical business issue, a survey showed.

Banks expect to tighten terms on credit cards in response to a new law that aims to protect consumers from sudden rate hikes, the Federal Reserve said Monday.

Home prices always lag sales, but they may be beginning to catch up.  A new report from Zillow.com finds home values stabilized in the third quarter of this year, as sales of new and existing homes grew.