Reuters - U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as bank and energy shares rebounded even as investors dumped Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on fears of an imminent government bailout of the housing finance companies.

Reuters - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shares plunged to their lowest levels in almost 20 years on Wednesday, while the mortgage companies' bonds rallied on the belief that an increasingly likely government bailout would wipe out shareholders but secure their massive debt.

AP - Investors are betting that time is running out for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Reuters - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley may incur further writedowns, mainly on their mortgage assets, said an analyst at Citigroup, who cut his third-quarter outlook for the U.S. investment banks.

AFP - US private equity group Lone Star is to buy IKB, the German bank rescued by the state development bank KfW after collapsing because of the subprime mortgage crisis, the KfW said Thursday.

AP - As mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac struggle with continuing credit losses, their ability to raise needed capital is uncertain and, analysts say, is complicated by the possibility of a government bailout of the two companies.

AP - Mortgage application volume fell last week to its lowest levels in nearly eight years, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.

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.