As financial storm signals appeared the last 18 months, there were Bush officials who urged drastic reform of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But, according to internal government sources, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson objected because it would look "too political." The Republican administration kept hands off the government-backed mortgage companies that are closely tied to the Democratic establishment. ...more

July 21, 2008

The U.S. housing crisis may accomplish what years of parental hectoring couldn't: Turn Americans from spenders into savers. ...more

July 17, 2008

The nation's leaders are running out of answers to America's economic crisis. ...more

July 16, 2008

We've all been so focused on whether we are officially in a recession that we may not have paid enough attention to the creeping threat of inflation. ...more

July 13, 2008

Fears that the government will be forced to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could well become a self-fulfilling prophecy. ...more

July 11, 2008

Lehman Bros. Holdings Inc. shares slid Thursday as continued credit fears shook Wall Street, and government officials again reiterated that no bank is too big to fail. ...more

July 11, 2008

The nation's top economic policymakers took their campaign to rework financial regulation to Capitol Hill on Thursday, urging Congress to make major changes in the oversight of Wall Street firms and other financial institutions. ...more

July 11, 2008

With a foreclosure rescue bill facing an uncertain fate in Congress, federal regulators are putting the final touches on new rules designed to curb irresponsible mortgage lending and help some struggling homeowners refinance into more affordable loans. ...more

July 9, 2008

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd, a leader of Congress' efforts to help homeowners ensnared in the subprime mortgage meltdown, reportedly got special treatment on his own mortgages from the chief executive officer of Countrywide Financial Corp., a company whose practices he has called "abusive." ...more

June 14, 2008

Rates on 30-year mortgages jumped to the highest level in nearly eight months, reflecting increased concerns about what the Federal Reserve might do to battle inflation. ...more

June 13, 2008