Rates on 30-year-fixed mortgages dropped this week to their lowest levels in at least 37 years, as the Federal Reserve pledged to pour money into the mortgage market in an effort to spur the moribund U.S. housing market. ...more

December 19, 2008

Here are some answers about the summit, which includes meetings today: Might the summit help ease economic pain in the United States and abroad? ...more

November 15, 2008

Wall Street fluctuated today as investors reacted enthusiastically to the U.S. government's plans to spend $250 billion to buy stock in private banks but also collected profits from the previous day's massive advance. The Dow Jones industrial average shifted between modest losses and gains a day after its record 936-point jump. ...more

October 14, 2008

Construction of new homes and apartments fell to the lowest level in 17 years last month, showing the country is still gripped by a severe housing downturn that has triggered billions of dollars of losses and is reshaping the structure of U.S. finance. ...more

September 18, 2008

Focused on getting the nation's credit gears smoothly working again, the Federal Reserve is letting Wall Street firms draw emergency loans into next year and giving financial companies more options to help them overcome credit problems. ...more

July 31, 2008

The Federal Reserve delivered powerful new relief to people and businesses squeezed by the ailing economy Wednesday, cutting interest rates ever deeper in an effort to avert or at least soften the blow of a recession. ...more

January 31, 2008

When people are panicking, it's hard to stop the stampede with talk about cutting a "federal funds rate." Economic fears on Wall Street and around the world are making people and businesses hunker down, and that could make recession worries come true - a vicious cycle the Federal Reserve, White House and Congress may be hard-pressed to break. ...more

January 23, 2008

Wall Street plunged again Friday amid renewed fears that the financial sector's troubles with bad credit won't soon end and that some consumers are buckling under the weight of a slowing economy. The major indexes each lost more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrials, which finished down nearly 250 points. ...more

January 12, 2008

Uncertainty over a state investment fund left government officials with little definitive information Friday, even after face-to-face meetings here with the state's chief financial officer. ...more

December 8, 2007

Fannie Mae warned investors Wednesday that its losses would mount next year from bad home loans, even as the mortgage finance company took steps to stabilize its finances. ...more

December 6, 2007