The federal government's planned $4 billion investment in the mortgage market is a small but welcome step in the right direction, the mortgage industry says.

WASHINGTON | Like a spreading infection, restrictions on credit are moving into new and more specialized niches of the mortgage market.The latest to feel the pinch Cash out refinancings.Loans with anything less than full documentation of borrower income,

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government this year has placed on its books the liabilities of a major investment bank in March, two mortgage-finance giants earlier this month, and this week, the nation's largest insurer. The world of free-market finance as we

WASHINGTON (AP) - Shares of mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae rose Monday as a government order temporarily banning a certain kind of short-selling of its stock, Freddie Mac's and that of several large investment banks took effect.

Aug. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac 's $36 billion in preferred stock was downgraded to the lowest investment-grade rating by Moody's Investors Service, which said the increased likelihood of ``direct support'' from the U.S. Treasury may