AP - The banking sector looked a little brighter for a second straight day Thursday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported better-than-expected results despite a spike in mortgage and other loan defaults.

AP - Merrill Lynch & Co. on Thursday issued its latest assessment of the damage it has suffered from the credit crisis: its fourth straight quarterly loss and write-downs from failed investments approaching $40 billion.

AFP - US mortgage giant Freddie Mac may attempt to raise capital by selling up to 10 billion dollars in new shares after its stock rebounded this week, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

AFP - The FBI is investigating failed IndyMac Bank for possible mortgage fraud, US media reported on Thursday, citing US officials.

Reuters - Stocks climbed more than 1 percent on Thursday as oil prices dropped sharply for the third day, while banks rallied after stronger-than-expected results from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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.