Many banks have made it harder for borrowers to obtain all kinds of loans over the past three months despite a $700 billion federal bailout program and a flurry of other bold moves to stem the worst financial crisis to hit the country since the 1930s. ...more

February 3, 2009

Senate Republicans circulated a sweeping plan to drive down the cost of mortgages by expanding the federal government's role in the industry, officials said Monday night as debate opened on an economic stimulus bill at the top of President Barack Obama's agenda. ...more

February 2, 2009

Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said it will allow some borrowers to rent their homes after losing them to foreclosure. ...more

January 31, 2009

In a swift victory for President Barack Obama, the Democratic-controlled House approved a historically huge $819 billion stimulus bill Wednesday night with spending increases and tax cuts at the heart of the young administration's plan to revive a badly ailing economy. ...more

January 29, 2009

The default rate for mortgages recently insured by the Federal Housing Administration has been climbing, an alarming trend for an agency that is playing a vastly expanded role in the mortgage market and backing roughly a quarter of all the loans made last year. ...more

January 26, 2009

Most congressional Democrats say the quickest way to save homeowners like Troy Butler of Saginaw, Mich., is to let them declare bankruptcy and allow judges to dictate new mortgage terms. ...more

January 25, 2009

Car manufacturers were granted their bailout. The loan to them is the responsibility of taxpayers who are out of jobs and losing homes and health care perks. Some are even going hungry. ...more

December 26, 2008

The Federal Reserve cut its target for a key interest rate to the lowest level on record Tuesday and pledged to use "all available tools" to combat a severe financial crisis and prolonged recession. STORY, Page 13 ...more

December 17, 2008

The government said Tuesday that it will deploy up to $800 billion to make it cheaper for Americans to get a home mortgage, take out a car loan or borrow money through a credit card, as the government's intervention in the financial system expands to directly address the impact of the credit crisis on consumers. ...more

November 26, 2008

Homeowners facing foreclosure could find help in an unlikely place - the company that insures their mortgage. ...more

November 26, 2008