FREDDIE MAC

The U.S. downgrade drama heated up Monday, as stock markets domestically and abroad plunged. The end of the story hasn't been told, yet. But how it ends lies in the hand of the leading character -- U.S. President Barack Obama.

Shares of major gold mining companies notched fresh gains in midday trading Monday as the price of the precious metal topped $1,700 per ounce.

The United States is unlikely to get its AAA rating back any time soon, and if Washington fails to follow through on spending cuts, the nation faces an even further downgrade, two Standard & Poor's execs said Monday.

These institutions process trades and are key to the daily operation of the U.S. financial markets.

Standard & Poor's downgrading in the U.S. continued Monday, as the ratings agency lowered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which own or guarantee roughly half of all mortgages in America.

It looks like the U.S. Government isn't the only one taking a ratings hit. Standard & Poor's cut Freddie Mac's and Fannie Mae's long-term ratings one notch on Monday.

On Friday, S&P reduced the U.S. credit rating by one notch from the highest rating of AAA to AA+, with a negative outlook.

A downgrade of United States' top-tier credit rating has Wall Street scrambling to figure out the knock-on effects for the financial system, from mortgages to banks to markets that rely on U.S. Treasuries for collateral.

BlackRock, the world's largest money manager, is looking for opportunities to buy U.S. mortgage agency debt in the wake of Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign rating, said Rick Rieder, the firm's chief investment officer of fixed income, fundamental portfolios.

China bluntly criticized the United States on Saturday one day after the superpower's credit rating was downgraded, saying the "good old days" of borrowing were over.

MERS, the electronic mortgage registry that faces multiple investigations for its role in thousands of problematic foreclosure cases, changed its rules to lower its profile in court-supervised foreclosures.

UBS AG was sued by the conservator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , which accused the Swiss bank of misleading the housing agencies into buying risky mortgage debt, resulting in more than $900 million of losses.

'History shows that even when the decision to raise the debt ceiling goes down to the wire, it does not lead to a default or a change in the perception that the US is the gold standard against which to benchmark other debt. This time around the stakes are higher.'

Call it 'dueling debt plans': Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev. announced Monday a $2.7 trillion spending reduction plan, while House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced a 2-stage spending cut plan, $1 trillion now, and $1.2 trillion next year. If the two sides can get down to negotiating, Monday will be a day of progress in the debt deal saga.

Fitch Ratings on Monday reiterated its view that if the U.S. debt ceiling is not raised prior to August 2, the agency will place the U.S. AAA rating on what it terms ratings watch negative, meaning it could downgrade it within three to six-months.

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.

The United States may lose its top-notch credit rating in the next few weeks if lawmakers fail to increase the country's legal borrowing limit and the government misses debt payments, Moody's Investors Service warned on Wednesday.

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.

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.