FREDDIE MAC

The Federal Reserve on Monday published new rules aimed at protecting consumers from abusive mortgage practices, including clearer cost disclosures and a ban on payments to mortgage brokers for steering borrowers into loans with higher interest rates.

Home loan rates set new lows in the latest week on more evidence of a soft U.S. economy and high unemployment, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Thursday.

Mortgage finance giant Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) on Monday said it would need another $1.8 billion in aid from taxpayers, bringing its total request since it was taken over by the government two years ago to more than $64 billion.

The top Republican on the House Financial Services Committee called on Friday for an investigation into charges that mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae pushed borrowers into a mortgage aid program so it could receive incentive payments from the U.S. government.

It should be possible to create a U.S. housing finance system without the need for potentially risky entities like government-sponsored mortgage finance agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said.

Mortgage rates fell in the past week to the latest in a series of record lows amid concerns about the state of the economy, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac.

A pair of key senators on Thursday urged President Barack Obama to name a permanent regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giants seized by the government almost two years ago at the height of the financial crisis.

The economy is not likely to slip back into recession but letting tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire is necessary to show commitment to cutting budget deficits, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Sunday.

The U.S. economy is not likely to slip back into recession but letting tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans expire is necessary to show commitment to cutting budget deficits, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Sunday.

U.S. 30- and 15-year mortgage rates fell to fresh lows in the past week amid concerns about the economy, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage finance company.

Increased housing commitments swelled U.S. taxpayers' total support for the financial system by $700 billion in the past year to around $3.7 trillion, a government watchdog said on Wednesday.

More than 40 employees at mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received special perks on mortgage loans from Countrywide as part of its former CEO's special VIP program, a top Republican U.S. lawmaker said on Tuesday.

Faced with a lose-lose proposition, Congress put off its decision on the fate of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, perhaps hoping the housing market recovers before losses get too big.

Republicans should not use problems at mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as an excuse to vote against sweeping changes to the rules of Wall Street, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said on Sunday.

The federal regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday said it is seeking to determine if issuers of private mortgage bonds are liable for losses suffered by the two housing finance giants.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc was sued by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co, which accused the Wall Street bank of fraudulently misleading it into buying preferred stock of mortgage financier Fannie Mae that would become virtually worthless.

U.S. 30-year mortgage rates dropped to a new record low in the past week, according to a survey released on Thursday by Freddie Mac FMCC.OB, as concerns mounted about the economic recovery.

The managers of China's hoard of currency reserves defended their investment record on Tuesday, saying they had avoided big losses during the global crisis and voicing confidence they could achieve stable long-term returns.

Mortgage rates slid to fresh record lows in the latest week amid tepid economic growth and tame inflation, home funding company Freddie Mac said on Thursday.

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a landmark overhaul of financial regulations but the Senate put off action until mid-July, delaying a final victory for President Barack Obama.

Freddie Mac, the second largest purchaser of residential mortgages, said it shrank its investment portfolio in May, while the delinquency rates on loans it guarantees were mixed at elevated levels.