Reuters - A California law firm will sue Fannie Mae on Tuesday on behalf of holders of the mortgage finance company's preferred shares, a lawyer with the firm said late on Monday.

Reuters - Washington Mutual Inc , was downgraded to "junk" status on Monday by Standard & Poor's amid concern about mortgage losses, causing shares of the largest U.S. savings and loan to slide after-hours following a 27 percent plunge in regular trading.

Reuters - The recently ousted chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are eligible for the pensions and 401k savings plans they built up while working for the mortgage giants, The Wall Street Journal said, citing a regulatory official.

AFP - Lehman Brothers declared itself bankrupt Monday and Wall Street rival Merrill Lynch had to be taken over in a new financial earthquake that sent global markets into a slump.

Reuters - American International Group Inc, left with deep financial scars from losses on guarantees it wrote to cover mortgage-linked securities, is expected to sell off assets, including a profitable aircraft leasing arm, the Wall Street Journal report on Sunday.

Reuters - U.S. regulators will not allow mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to pay their departing chief executives multimillion-dollar severance packages outlined in their contracts, The Washington Post reported on Sunday.

AFP - Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy Monday and Merrill Lynch announced a rescue sale in a series of dramas in the US financial system which hit European stocks as soon as trading began.

AFP - The rescue of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may be a master stroke that averts a global financial calamity, or one of the biggest economic boondoggles in history, analysts say.

Reuters - Financial regulators have decided how multi-million dollar severance packages for the departing chief executives of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could be limited.

Reuters - Under increasing pressure from shareholders, American International Group could announce details of its turnaround plan much sooner than expected, including possible asset sales and how it will shore up capital, according to a source familiar with developments.

Reuters - Stocks closed little changed on Friday in day of whipsaw moves as uncertainty over the fate of troubled investment bank Lehman Brothers kept investors anxious about the health of the U.S. financial system.

Reuters - Shares of American International Group Inc fell almost 30 percent on Friday as investors grew increasingly concerned that its large exposure to mortgages is backing it into a corner.