AP - Wall Street is surging for the second straight day as tumbling energy prices bolster an already upbeat mood in the market. The Dow Jones industrial average is up 170 points at the 11,409 level, and has been up more than 200 in afternoon trading.

AP - JPMorgan Chase's profit took a 53 percent hit in the second quarter as mortgage and other loan defaults worsened, but the bank's results were better than expected and gave Wall Street a lift.

Reuters - Investors snapped up shares of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae for a second day on Thursday after Freddie pulled off its second successful debt sale following Sunday's announcement of a U.S. rescue plan for the two housing finance companies.

AP - For years, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tenaciously worked to nurture, and then protect, their financial empires by invoking the political sacred cow of homeownership and fielding an army of lobbyists, power brokers and political contributors.

Reuters - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a House of Representatives panel on Wednesday the U.S. economy is going through a "rough time" and urged lawmakers to approve Treasury Department proposals to back up mortgage markets.

AFP - Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday ailing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "in no danger of failing," helping fuel a big boost in the troubled finance sector as fears of a deeper crisis eased.

AP - The FBI is investigating failed bank IndyMac Bancorp Inc. for possible fraud, an official said Wednesday of the government's latest target following the collapse of the nation's subprime mortgage market.

AP - For years, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tenaciously worked to nurture, and then protect, their financial empires by invoking the political sacred cow of homeownership and fielding an army of lobbyists, power brokers and political contributors.