Reuters - Countrywide Financial Corp, which was the largest U.S. mortgage lender before being acquired by Bank of America Corp , faces a Federal Trade Commission probe into whether its loan-servicing activities violated federal law.

AP - Wachovia Corp. said Monday it plans to cut 600 more jobs than it previously expected as it works to reduce expenses in the face of staggering losses tied to mortgage debt.

Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co incurred losses of about $1.5 billion for the quarter to date, as it continued to be hurt by wider credit spreads, lower levels of liquidity, as well as the disruption in the credit and mortgage markets, the U.S. investment bank said in a regulatory filing.

Reuters - Standard & Poor's on Monday slashed the preferred stock ratings of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , and said the U.S. mortgage funding giants presented a greater risk to the government.

Reuters - U.S. stocks soared on Friday rounding out their best week in more than three months, as oil plunged below $115 a barrel, easing inflation concerns and improving prospects for business and consumer spending.

AFP - Struggling mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae unveiled Friday a steeper-than-expected quarterly loss and announced dramatic measures to weather the worst US housing slump in decades.

AP - Wall Street rebounded smartly Friday, shooting higher as a surge in the dollar and another plunge in oil prices eased some of investors' worries about losses at mortgage finance company Fannie Mae. The Dow Jones industrials soared more than 300 points, more than wiping out a big loss from the previous session, and all the major indexes had their best weekly gains since April.

AP - Fannie Mae is making bold cutbacks that will send shock waves through the mortgage market, after posting a quarterly loss Friday that was three times larger than Wall Street expected.

AFP - Struggling home finance giant Fannie Mae Friday reported a massive second quarter loss of 2.3 billion dollars, more than three times analysts' estimates.

Reuters - Stocks jumped on Friday as the U.S. dollar's rally helped push oil prices down to nearly $116 a barrel, reducing inflation fears and improving prospects for stronger business and consumer spending.

AP - Fannie Mae swung to a second-quarter loss that was more than triple what Wall Street expected as conditions in the housing market continued to deteriorate, forcing the mortgage finance giant to make bold cutbacks that will send shock waves through the mortgage market.