A new federal program to support state and local housing finance agencies is expected to involve more than $29 billion in government support, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac disclosed Thursday.

Rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to their lowest levels since May, Freddie Mac reported on Thursday.

The foreclosure crisis likely will persist well into next year as high unemployment pushes more people out of homes, pulls down housing prices and raises concerns about the broader economic recovery.

Government programs don't help the market, one economist says, because they don't "get rid of the fundamental problem: There's still a glut of houses.”

The Federal Reserve is proposing to exempt some investors from a requirement that consumers receive notice within 30 days after their home loan is sold or transferred to a new mortgage company.

Federal Housing Administration Commissioner David Stevens said Saturday that concerns the agency is headed for the same financial trouble that snared Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the subprime sector are unwarranted.

The Federal Housing Administration's financial cushion has fallen to a dangerously low level, but government officials maintain the agency should avoid a taxpayer bailout under "most economic scenarios."

The swift acquittal of two Bear Stearns executives in the government's criminal case tied to the financial meltdown likely will force prosecutors to rethink the evidence they planned to present in a raft of cases that have yet to go to trial, legal experts say.

After a slow start, the Obama administration's mortgage relief program has reached one in five eligible homeowners, a government report says.

The Obama administration's mortgage relief program has reached one in five eligible homeowners, a government report says, but most of those borrowers are on temporary trial plans that have yet to be made final.

Fannie Mae said Monday it may have to ask the government for more financial assistance because the company cannot sell $5.2 billion in tax credits.

Thousands of borrowers on the verge of foreclosure will soon have the option of renting their homes from Fannie Mae, under a policy announced Thursday.

The Federal Reserve pledged to keep a key interest rate at a record low for an "extended period," signaling that the weak economy remains dependent on government help to grow.

Newly empowered by the Supreme Court, the attorneys general of several states hit hard by the housing collapse are exploring consumer fraud suits against major mortgage lenders.

Signed contracts to buy previously occupied U.S. homes rose for the eighth straight month in September as buyers scrambled to take advantage of a tax credit for first-time buyers.