MORTGAGE

The Bush Administration is close to agreeing on a pact with major financial institutions that would temporarily freeze interest rates on certain subprime loans, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the negotiations. The plans' details, which could be announced as soon as next week, are still being ironed out, the Journal said.

Wells Fargo & Co, the second-largest U.S. mortgage lender, said on Tuesday it would take a $1.4 billion fourth-quarter charge largely related to losses on home equity loans as the nation's housing market deteriorates.

Housing and credit troubles took more of a toll on the U.S. economy as prices on pre-owned single-family homes tumbled in the third quarter and consumer confidence in November sank to a two-year low, reports on Tuesday showed.

In May, Alvin Clavon received a foreclosure notice on the simple, Spanish-style house in South Los Angeles that he shares with his wife and three boys.

Mortgage applications fell last week, with demand for both refinancings and home purchases waning, an industry group said on Wednesday. The Mortgage Bankers Association's seasonally adjusted mortgage application index fell 3.6 percent to 681.7 in the week ended November 16.

The Dubai government agency that bought into Deutsche Bank this year said on Monday it was considering investing in U.S. financial services firms affected by the mortgage-market crisis.

Fannie Mae had its biggest two-day decline in 20 years after executives failed to alleviate investor concern following a report that speculated it may have understated its credit losses.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Friday said a strong dollar is in the nation’s industry, but noted that parts of the subprime housing market will likely worsen over the next few months.

As banks work to clean up some of the subprime mortgage mess, they are finding new obstacles in unraveling the massive paper trail used to pool individual loans into mortgage-backed securities.

Cities in California, Florida and Ohio dominated the 25 U.S. metro areas with the highest home foreclosure rates, though rates jumped in most of the top regions during the third quarter, RealtyTrac said on Wednesday.

Europe's biggest bank HSBC Holdings is expected to report another big hit from its exposure to the U.S. mortgage crisis on Wednesday, when it will also release a group trading update.

Countrywide Financial Corp, the largest U.S. mortgage lender, on Tuesday said it funded 48 percent fewer mortgages in October than a year earlier, and significantly reduced some of the riskier home loans that prompted its recent financial troubles.

Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce said on Friday it will take a fourth-quarter writedown of C$463 million ($493 million) before tax on various securities tied to the U.S. mortgage market, and analysts said they would not be surprised to see further writedowns.

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued subpoenas to mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Wednesday as he seeks information about allegations that Washington Mutual Inc pressured appraisers to inflate home values.

It's not just for lonely hearts anymore. Speed-dating a way for busy singles to meet was on the event list at a distinctly unromantic venue, the Information Management Network's ABS East conference, in a bid to bring together investors and issuers still reeling from this year's U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown.

Banks were more tight-fisted when lending money to businesses and households during the last three months as demand for loans dropped, according to a new survey.

The Federal Reserve will have to cut its federal funds target rate to prevent a dramatic fall in housing prices in the wake of the subprime mortgage meltdown, the manager of the world's biggest bond fund said on Monday.

The rate of foreclosures in the United States will remain higher than normal for the next 18 months as the current home loan crisis plays itself out, a senior U.S. Treasury official said on Friday.

A Federal Reserve interest rate cut this week won't be enough to save the reeling housing sector, overwhelmed by unsold homes.

Canadian home buyers look poised to reap the rewards as U.S.-based mortgage insurance companies bid for a foothold in the hot domestic housing market.

Rising mortgage payments and tighter lending standards for refinancing amid the subprime credit crisis have dried up once-easy access to home equity loans for many middle-income borrowers -- so desperate borrowers are using credit cards to cover basics while trying to keep up with home payments.