FANNIE MAE

Moody's says the U.S. should eliminate its legislative debt ceiling limit altogether. Moody's says the limit does no good, since lawmakers can still approve expenditures anyway. Moody's says the debt ceiling limit only serves to create angst among bondholders as the limit is approached but not raised on a timely basis.

Standard & Poor's on Friday put a broad range of financial companies on negative credit watch, warning they could all be downgraded soon if the United States has its credit rating cut.

Credit-rating service Moody's said that it is putting the U.S. government on review. Our government may see a downgrade from its Aaa bond rating because of the increasing possibility that the debt ceiling will not be raised in time to prevent a missed payment of interest or principal on outstanding bonds and notes.

Moody's has put the U.S. government's bond rating on watch for possible downgrade.

Time Inc.'s Fortune magazine released its annual Fortune Global 500 list, which is a ranking of the top 500 corporations worldwide as measured by revenue. Start slideshow to view a gallery of the top 10 biggest companies in the US.

Bank of America will take another $13 billion in charges related to pending settlement with private label mortgage-backed securities investors, Sanford C Bernstein said.

Moody's on Wednesday warned it may downgrade some Aaa-rated U.S. states and municipalities if the country loses its top-notch rating or if federal funding falls significantly as part of a plan to reduce the nation's deficit.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), one of the nation's largest banks by assets, has confirmed an $8.5 billion settlement with high-profile investors over mortgage loans, and would report a second-quarter loss in the range of $8.6 billion to $9.1 billion.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is nearing an $8.5 billion settlement with high-profile investors over mortgage loans, according to people familiar with the matter.

Bank of America Corp is close to a deal to pay $8.5 billion to settle claims from a group of powerful investors that lost money on mortgage-backed securities, a person familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

The flood of Federal Reserve money that has supported Wall Street and the rest of the U.S. economy for 2-1/2 years will shrink to a trickle with the conclusion of the Fed's bond purchases announced on Friday.

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet expanded to a record size in the latest week, as the central bank bought more bonds in an effort to support the economy, Fed data released on Thursday showed.

A settlement between a coalition of federal and state agencies and banks over foreclosure practices will take longer to hammer out than many expect, Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Brian Moynihan said on Wednesday.

Solutions to fix the mess the U.S. housing finance system are months if not years away, but U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will likely reiterate his view to Congress on Wednesday that the United States must make that system more efficient, resilient and less complex.

The Federal Reserve's balance sheet expanded to a record size in the latest week, as the central bank bought more bonds in an effort to support the economy, Fed data released on Thursday showed.

Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae on Friday said it would ask for an additional $8.5 billion from taxpayers as it continues to suffer losses on loans made prior to 2009.

Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac on Wednesday said it lost just short of a billion dollars last quarter, though it did not ask taxpayers for more aid as the loss stemmed from interest payments to the government.

With today’s gain, the S&P 500 index has now more than doubled in value from the Mar. 9, 2009 bear market low.

President Barack Obama's warning that a government shutdown might prevent many Americans from obtaining a mortgage may be more of a negotiating tactic than reality.

Large financial firms should be allowed to fail or they will continue to take excess risks that lead to crises, Richmond Federal Reserve President Jeffrey Lacker said on Thursday.

The heads of bailed-out mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were paid fat salaries without proper written procedures or analysis, according to a report published by the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA-OIG).