AFP - Speculation about the stressed financial health of US mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac swirled Wednesday as their share prices further plummeted.

Reuters - Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dove to their lowest levels in more than 18 years on mounting fears of a government bailout that would wipe out shareholders of the two U.S. housing finance giants.

Reuters - Stocks were slightly higher in choppy trade on Wednesday as strong results from Hewlett-Packard triggered a rally in the technology sector that offset a slump in shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to more than 17-year lows.

AP - Shares of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued their plunge Wednesday as investors became increasingly convinced that the stocks will drop to zero if the government bails out the troubled companies.

AP - Wall Street fell sharply for a second straight session Tuesday after a hefty jump in wholesale inflation and a drop in new home construction gave investors more reason to believe an economic recovery is far off. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 130 points.

AFP - Investments in the bonds of struggling US home-loan financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have earned Russia more than a billion dollars in the past six months, press reports said Tuesday.

AP - Wall Street fell sharply for a second straight session Tuesday after a hefty jump in wholesale inflation and a drop in new home construction gave investors more reason to believe an economic recovery is far off. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped by about 130 points.

AP - Whether or not the government is actually on the verge of taking over mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, investor fears that a bailout is imminent could turn such a worst-case scenario into reality.

AFP - The euro rebounded from six-month lows against the dollar after weak US housing market figures stoked fresh concerns over the outlook for the US economy.

Reuters - Home building projects started in July fell 11 percent to the lowest annual rate in more than 17 years, while building permits tumbled 17.7 percent, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.

AFP - The US Treasury swiftly played down a media report Monday that suggested the government could be poised to extend significant financial aid to the struggling mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Reuters - U.S. stocks sank on Monday as the prospect of more losses from the mortgage crisis hurt the shares of banks and the two biggest home finance providers, pushing all three major indexes down about 1.5 percent.