Reuters - Oil jumped than $2 to near $109 a barrel on Monday, rebounding from a five-month low on worries that Hurricane Ike would tear through the Gulf of Mexico, and on hopes that a U.S. bailout of its top mortgage lenders would help temper an economic downturn.

Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc , the largest U.S. savings and loan, is replacing Chief Executive Kerry Killinger, making him the latest high-profile casualty of the credit crisis, the Wall Street Journal reported on its website on Sunday.

AFP - The US government has taken over ailing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, placing them in a "conservatorship" in a bid to avert a financial system meltdown from the housing crisis.

AP - Wall Street finally got what it's been angling for: a bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that could aid a recovery of the broken U.S. housing market and arrest a slide in stock and credit markets worldwide.

Reuters - Shares in Asian banks soared on Monday after the U.S. government took over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , reassuring investors worried about exposure to the mortgage giants' bonds and the value of other risky debt assets.

Reuters - The U.S. Treasury's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is good news in the short term for China, the biggest holder of the giant mortgage lenders' debt, but Beijing's huge U.S. exposure still poses a serious risk, a prominent government researcher said on Monday.

Reuters - Amicable talks between Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the U.S. mortgage finance companies' regulator about an aid package ended abruptly as policy-makers resolved in recent days to seize the firms, industry sources with knowledge of the events said.

AP - The Bush administration's seizure of troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is potentially a $200 billion bet that it will help reverse a prolonged housing and credit crisis.

AP - Asian stock markets soared Monday after Washington announced a bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — a move that could help bolster a shaky U.S. housing market and renew global investor confidence.

AP - The government's historic bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Sunday will be good news to homebuyers and some homeowners hoping to refinance if it leads to lower mortgage rates, as experts expect.

Reuters - China and Japan, the biggest buyers of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae bonds, praised Washington for its rescue of the ailing mortgage giants, but investors harbored no illusions the bailout would end the global credit market misery.

AFP - European stock markets surged in early trading on Monday, mirroring sharp gains won across Asia after the US government seized control of ailing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AFP - European and Asian stock markets surged Monday after the US government grabbed control of ailing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, easing fears of a world financial crisis, dealers said.

AFP - The US government was preparing a massive intervention Sunday in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an effort to shore up the two ailing mortgage finance firms that underpin trillions of dollars in loans and are a linchpin the financial system.