AFP - The US government is planning to put under strict federal control troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, fire their top executives and use federal funds to bail them out, US media reported on their websites.

Reuters - The U.S. government plans to put government sponsored mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac under federal control, the New York Times and Washington Post newspapers reported late Friday, in what could be the largest financial bailout in the nation's history.

AP - The government is expected to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as soon as this weekend in a monumental move designed to protect the mortgage market from the failure of the two companies, which together hold or guarantee half of the nation's mortgage debt, a person briefed on the matter said Friday night.

Reuters - Home foreclosures and the rate of homes entering foreclosure rose to record highs in the second quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Friday.

AP - More than 4 million American homeowners with a mortgage, a record 9 percent, were either behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of June, as damage from the housing crisis worsened, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Friday.

Reuters - Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc is considering a plan to put some $32 billion of its commercial real estate and mortgage assets in a new company and spin it off, Bloomberg reported on its website on Thursday.

AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages fell for a third straight week, dropping to the lowest level since mid-July.

Reuters - GMAC LLC, the auto finance and mortgage company, plans to eliminate about 5,000 jobs at its Residential Capital LLC unit and close all 200 GMAC Mortgage retail offices to combat weak housing and credit markets.

Reuters - GMAC LLC said on Wednesday it plans to cut 5,000 jobs at its Residential Capital LLC mortgage unit, or 60 percent of that work force, and shut its 200 GMAC Mortgage retail offices to combat persistently weak housing and credit markets.