AP - The government is expected to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as soon as this weekend in a monumental move designed to protect the mortgage market from the failure of the two companies, which together hold or guarantee half of the nation's mortgage debt, a person briefed on the matter said Friday night. Read more…

Reuters - The U.S. Treasury Department is close to finalizing a plan to buttress mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. Read more…

Reuters - Home foreclosures and the rate of homes entering the foreclosure process rose to record highs in the second quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Friday. Read more…

AP - An industry group says a record 9.2 percent of American homeowners with a mortgage were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of June, as damage from the housing crisis continues to mount. Read more…

AP - German industrial production fell 1.8 percent in July compartede with June, with the three main categories of output showing declines, the ministry of the economy said Friday. Read more…

AFP - London shares were falling Friday on a weak outlook for the global economy following further disappointing US and European data. Read more…

Reuters - Columbia Bancorp , the holding company for Columbia River Bank, said it plans to close its mortgage banking division, affecting about 39 jobs, as it strives to cut costs amid a difficult mortgage market. Read more…

AP - Asian stock markets plunged Friday in the wake of a sell-off on Wall Street amid mounting concerns about a slumping U.S. economy and its impact on global growth. European shares also opened lower. Read more…

AP - A year after orchestrating a takeover of H&R Block Inc.'s leadership, Richard Breeden gave shareholders an update Thursday on efforts to rejuvenate the tax preparation giant, saying some success has been made but the work is ongoing. Read more…

Reuters - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is considering a plan to put some $32 billion of its commercial real estate and mortgage assets in a new company and spin it off, Bloomberg reported on its website on Thursday. Read more…

AFP - The euro sank to its lowest level against the dollar this year on Thursday after the European Central Bank cut its eurozone growth forecasts, adding to gloom surrounding the European economy. Read more…

AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for a third straight week, dropping to the lowest level since mid-July. Read more…

AFP - German fertiliser group K+S will join the DAX 30 index of blue-chip stocks, reflecting its growing business as prices for commodities and foods rise globally. Read more…

Reuters - Asian shares fell to new two-year lows on Thursday as further signs of a slowing global economy -- from the United States to the euro zone -- hit export-dependent sectors such as technology. Read more…

Reuters - H&R Block Inc , the largest U.S. tax preparer, reported a quarterly loss that was 56 percent smaller than a year earlier on Wednesday, after shedding its money-losing mortgage operations to focus on its tax business. Read more…

AP - Lender GMAC Financial Services says it will close 200 retail offices and lay off about 5,000 employees as part of plan to scale back its mortgage lending and servicing operations due to the downturn in the housing market. Read more…

Reuters - GMAC LLC said on Wednesday it plans to cut 5,000 jobs at its Residential Capital LLC mortgage unit, or 60 percent of that work force, and shut its 200 GMAC Mortgage retail offices as it combats weak credit and housing markets. Read more…

Reuters - Major economies on both sides of the Atlantic are increasingly vulnerable to each other's weakness, as the euro zone teeters on the brink of recession while the United States is barely muddling through, data showed on Wednesday. Read more…

AFP - The FTSE 100 was lower on Wednesday, mirroring stock exchanges across Europe which were dragged down by concern over falling oil prices, traders said. Read more…

AP - Falling exports and lower household spending caused the euro economy to shrink by 0.2 percent in the second quarter, EU statistics showed Wednesday. Read more…

AFP - The economy of the 15 nations sharing the euro contracted in the second quarter for the first time since the bloc was formed in 1999, according to a second official EU estimate on Wednesday. Read more…

Reuters - Merrill Lynch & Co , battered by more than $40 billion of write-downs tied largely to mortgages, said on Tuesday it hired Michael Nierenberg from JPMorgan Chase & Co to head its mortgage and securitization businesses. Read more…

AFP - The FTSE was higher on Tuesday as travel companies benefited from the fall in oil prices, analysts said. Read more…

AFP - Russia on Tuesday hit out at EU leaders for freezing strategic talks over the Georgia crisis, but was also relieved that no economic sanctions were ordered. Read more…

AP - Threatening to delay talks on a political and economic agreement, the European Union has warned Russia to pull its troops back from positions in Georgia. Read more…