Fannie Mae, which had been restricting loans to buyers of condominiums in Florida, is now relaxing some of those standards. ...more

January 7, 2010

When federal, state and Pasco County officials started talking about using public money to counteract the collapse of the housing market and the related mortgage foreclosure problem, we wondered whether this would just delay the inevitable. The housing boom, whatever its cause, got too many people into mortgage debt they had no hope of repaying, especially once the inflated value of their houses collapsed. No amount of temporary foreclosure forbearance was going to change that unfortunate reality. According to the lead article in the Jan. 2 edition of The New York Times, our concerns were justified. ...more

January 6, 2010

The two chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could get paid as much as $6 million for 2009, despite the companies' dismal performances this year, which cost taxpayers more than $100 billion. ...more

December 25, 2009

The Senate voted Thursday to raise the ceiling on the government debt to $12.4 trillion, a massive increase over the current limit and a political problem that President Barack Obama has promised to address next year. ...more

December 24, 2009

Citigroup and other banks starting to repay the billions of dollars they borrowed from the government are getting another boost as they exit the bailout program: Billions more in tax breaks. ...more

December 17, 2009

Citigroup said Monday it is repaying $20 billion in public bailout money, freeing the banking giant from the close scrutiny and pay restrictions that came with the rescue program. ...more

December 15, 2009

Only about 10,000 homeowners have received permanent loan modifications under the Obama administration's mortgage relief plan, evidence of continuing challenges in the government's effort to stem the foreclosure crisis. ...more

December 10, 2009

As part of a broad effort to boost participation in its mortgage assistance program, the Obama administration will crack down on mortgage companies that are failing to do enough to help borrowers at risk of foreclosure. ...more

December 1, 2009

The Obama administration will crack down on mortgage companies that are failing to do enough to help borrowers at risk of foreclosure, as part of a broad effort to boost participation in its mortgage assistance program. ...more

November 30, 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — Foreign demand for long-term U.S. financial assets rose in September as China and other countries boosted their holdings of Treasury securities. ...more

November 17, 2009