FREDDIE MAC

Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and said it may liquidate, three weeks after it closed its mortgage lending business and was suspended by a federal agency.

James Lockhart, who earlier this month said he would resign as the U.S. regulator overseeing mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , will become vice chairman of a distressed investment group at Invesco Ltd , the company said on Wednesday.

Samantha Kielar is scrambling to find a house in Colorado before the doors slam shut on an $8,000 first-time buyer's tax credit she needs for her downpayment or home repairs.

U.S. mortgage rates rose in the latest week as Treasury yields climbed, according to a survey released on Thursday, a move that may dampen home loan demand.

Stocks were poised for a lower open on Monday as investors looked set to book profits, ahead of a Federal Reserve Board meeting and earnings from some of the nation's largest retailers later this week.

Freddie Mac, the second largest provider of U.S. home mortgage funding, on Friday posted its first quarterly profit in two years as gains from hedges and a one-time accounting change offset still-lofty credit losses.

Mortgage financier on Friday reported its first quarterly profit in two years causing its shares to surge 26 percent in after hours trading. as higher interest income and gains on its hedges offset still-lofty credit losses. For the latest quarter, Freddie Mac reported a profit of $768 million compared with a year-earlier loss of $821 million. The results include $2.2 billion of securities write-downs that were more than offset by $4.2 billion in gains on the company's derivative portfolio.

Fannie Mae, the largest provider of U.S. home mortgage funding, on Thursday reported a $14.8 billion quarterly net loss that it said would force it to go to the U.S. Treasury trough a third time for money to stay in business.

U.S. officials are considering a plan to isolate failing assets held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, while an administration official said such an idea was in the early stages of development.

James Lockhart, the U.S. regulator who nationalized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will soon resign after more than three years as overseer for the mortgage finance companies, an administration official said on Wednesday.

The head of the federal agency, James B. Lockhart III, that controls Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is stepping down.

James Lockhart, the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will soon step down after more than three years as overseer for the mortgage finance companies, an administration official said.

U.S. mortgage rates rose for a second consecutive week as Treasury yields climbed, a move that does not bode well for the hard-hit U.S. housing market.

Freddie Mac (FRE.P)(FRE.N), the second-largest U.S. home funding company, said on Friday its mortgage investment portfolio grew by an annualized 9.3 percent rate in June, while delinquencies on loans it guarantees accelerated.

Freddie Mac on Tuesday named Charles Ed Haldeman as their new chief executive officer effective August.

Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, today told congress policy makers that the Fed will likely maintain interest rates at exceptionally low levels for extended periods. Following Bernanke's remarks treasury prices increased reversing a earlier losses. Bernanke said despite positive signs of an improvement in the economy, the job loss rate remains high and the unemployment rate continues its steep rise.

Freddie Mac (FRE.P), the mortgage finance company seized by regulators in September, has chosen Charles

Fortress Investment Group, among the largest private equity and hedge fund firms, is expected to name former Fannie Mae boss Daniel Mudd as its chief executive, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Thursday before lawmakers that he saw no evidence of any illegal actions as he testified on Capitol Hill over the government's role in Bank of America, Merrill Lynch merger. In prepared remarks submitted to the panel, he says he acted appropriately in December when Charlotte-based BofA threatened to back out of the deal.

A July 10 lender bulletin from Freddie Mac says appraisers

The Obama administration on Wednesday expanded its foreclosure prevention efforts to help a greater number of underwater homeowners refinance their mortgages.