Reuters - Britain's Lloyds TSB sealed a 12.2 billion pound ($21.7 billion) deal to buy HBOS Plc to create a dominant mortgage and savings bank, encouraged by the government amid fears turmoil in financial markets would claim another UK victim.

Reuters - Construction starts on new U.S. homes plummeted to a 17-1/2-year low during August as builders scaled back sharply to try to cope with the worst slump in U.S. housing since the Great Depression.

Reuters - Construction starts on new homes plunged to a 17-1/2-year low during August as builders scaled back sharply to try to cope with the worst slump in U.S. housing since the Great Depression.

Reuters - British bank Lloyds TSB is in advanced talks to buy domestic rival HBOS Plc , HBOS said on Wednesday, to create a 28 billion pound ($50 billion) mortgage giant.

AFP - The global financial firestorm claimed a fresh victim Wednesday as top British mortgage lender HBOS said it was in takeover talks after a huge US bailout of insurer AIG helped underpin volatile share prices.

Reuters - Shares of Wall Street firms Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs plummeted on Wednesday and Britain's biggest mortgage lender neared a sale in the latest signs of extreme distress in the financial industry.

Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama sought on Tuesday to link his Republican rival to the turmoil sweeping Wall Street, and John McCain fired back that Obama had close ties to the troubled mortgage industry.

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.