AP - Most Asian markets fell Monday after the U.S. government announced plans to prop up troubled mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Reuters - A U.S government plan to shore up mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac helped calm markets on Monday but did little to allay fears about the health of the U.S. financial system.

AFP - Freddie Mac, one of two troubled mortgage finance giants given an emergency lifeline by the US Treasury, looked to cool investor fears Monday with a three-billion-dollar debt sell-off.

AP - Scrambling to bolster eroding investor confidence, the Federal Reserve and the Treasury Department announced steps to brace slumping mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AFP - Federally-seized IndyMac Bank was due to reopen Monday after suffering one of the biggest bank closures in US history, as the troubled US mortgage industry struggles to stem further meltdown.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury Department officials are trying to make sure that Freddie Mac, one of two troubled U.S. giant mortgage firms, will be able sell $3 billion in securities this week at a previously scheduled sale, the Washington Post reported on Sunday.

Reuters - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama said on Saturday he was confident "prudent steps" by the U.S. government would stabilize mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but that it was necessary to see how the situation developed before deciding on what steps to take.

AP - Confronted by record foreclosures, the Federal Reserve is ready to give home buyers more protection from the types of shady lending practices that have contributed to the housing crisis.

Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is insisting that if Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need rescuing, the plan should not benefit shareholders of the giant mortgage finance firms, the Wall Street Journal said on Saturday.

AFP - Federally-seized IndyMac Bank was due to reopen Monday after suffering one of the biggest bank closures in US history, as the troubled US mortgage industry struggles to stem further meltdown.

Reuters - U.S. banking regulators swooped in to seize mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp Inc on Friday after withdrawals by panicked depositors led to the third-largest banking failure in U.S. history.

Reuters - Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama said on Saturday he was confident "prudent steps" by the U.S. government would stabilize mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but that it was necessary to see how the situation developed before deciding on what steps to take.

AP - IndyMac Bank's assets were seized by federal regulators on Friday after the mortgage lender succumbed to the pressures of tighter credit, tumbling home prices and rising foreclosures.

AP - Wall Street and Washington wrestled Friday with how to shore up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two troubled pillars of the economy whose failure would deal a devastating blow to the already crippled housing market.

AFP - As panicked investors pushed US mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to the brink, debate swirled on whether the meltdown was a crisis of confidence or the onset of wider economic woes.