A number of financial terms have become a part of the daily conversation as the worst financial crisis in decades has deepened, affecting companies, industries and ordinary people. A slowdown that began in the real estate market has led to bank failures, plunging stock prices and an economy that may be hurtling toward a deep recession. The glossary below list short definitions for these terms.

Fannie Mae said Tuesday it will buy mortgages from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago under an agreement with the bank.

Fannie Mae will buy mortgage loans from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago in an effort to increase liquidity and stability in the U.S. mortgage market, the two agencies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The credit crisis sparked a year ago by the collapse of the U.S. housing market has forced governments around the world to bail out several banks and financial companies. Here's a list of the financial institutions rescued so far in 2008:

Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank said Monday Republican criticism of Democrats over the nation's housing crisis is a veiled attack on the poor that's racially motivated.

Democrat Rick Noriega's campaign suggested Monday that despite his claims to the contrary Republican Sen. John Cornyn is cozy with Wall Street investors and bankers who contribute millions to his campaigns.

A Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst downgraded and set lower profit estimates on EMC Insurance Group Inc. on Monday, saying the stock is expensive for its projected profits.

The now-bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers arranged millions in bonuses for fired executives as it pleaded for a federal lifeline, lawmakers learned Monday, as Congress began investigating what went so wrong on Wall Street to prompt a $700 billion government bailout.

Richard Fuld, the disgraced head of Lehman Brothers, said he would wonder "until they put me in the ground'' why the U.S. government did not rescue the 158-year-old Wall Street firm and claimed regulators knew the full scale of its condition far before its collapse.

State Auto Financial Corp. said Monday its third-quarter catastrophe losses from storm activity will be between $55 million and $60 million, as Hurricane Ike battered its policyholders in the Midwest.

One of the largest U.S. real estate brokerages Monday said it is asking its sellers to cut listing prices by as much as 10 percent to kick-start U.S. home sales in a market plagued by a two-year price slump and near-record unsold supply.

The New York Times reports how Fannie Mae, under pressure from Wall Street firms, Congress and company shareholders, took risks that pushed the company, and, in turn, the nation’s financial health, to the brink.

With the passage of the $700 billion rescue package, the financial industry will face greater congressional scrutiny in coming weeks and months.

By John Poirier

By John Poirier