Reuters - A Bush administration plan to rescue Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost U.S. taxpayers $25 billion, congressional budget analysts said on Tuesday as Congress worked to complete sweeping housing market legislation.

AFP - Banking giant Wachovia took a severe hit from the US housing slump with a second-quarter loss of 8.662 billion dollars as it announced plans Tuesday to cut jobs and end wholesale mortgage operations.

AP - A federal rescue of troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost taxpayers as much as $25 billion, Congress' top budget analyst said Tuesday.

Reuters - Bank of America Corp reported quarterly profit on Monday that fell less than expected on record revenue, boosting shares of the largest U.S. retail bank and mortgage lender despite a surge in bad loans.

Reuters - Bank examiners from the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Comptroller of the Currency are inspecting the books of mortgage finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

AFP - British lender HBOS failed on Monday to raise almost eight billion dollars from shareholders to boost finances hit by the global credit crisis, forcing the underwriting banks to step in.

Reuters - Bank of America Corp on Monday reported quarterly profit that fell less than expected, causing shares of the largest U.S. retail bank and mortgage lender to soar despite a surge in bad loans.

Reuters - Demand for debt sold by mortgage finance company Freddie Mac weakened on Monday while a prominent analyst estimated Freddie and Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. home funding sources, each need to raise up to $15 billion in fresh capital.