AP - Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republican consulting firm $2 million to kill legislation that would have regulated and trimmed the mortgage finance giant and its sister company, Fannie Mae, three years before the government took control to prevent their collapse.

AP - Freddie Mac secretly paid a Republican consulting firm $2 million to kill legislation that would have regulated and trimmed the mortgage finance giant and its sister company, Fannie Mae, three years before the government took control to prevent their collapse.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Friday on weakness in manufacturing and financial stocks after bleak data on consumer confidence and construction, but the Dow still snapped a disastrous three-week losing streak with it best weekly gain in more than 5 years.

Reuters - Consumer confidence suffered its steepest monthly drop on record in October and construction starts on new homes fell to a 17-1/2 year low the previous month, as the financial crisis sent shock waves through the economy.

Reuters - Stocks rose in choppy trade on Friday after tech bellwether Google Inc posted reassuring results and energy stocks tracked the price of oil higher.

AP - Investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. said Thursday its third-quarter loss widened as it took more than $12 billion in charges and write-downs tied to the sale of mortgage investments and fallout from the continued credit crisis.

Reuters - Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama warned his supporters to guard against overconfidence on Thursday as he and underdog Republican rival John McCain opened a 19-day sprint to Election Day.

AP - Merrill Lynch says it third-quarter loss widened as it took more than $12 billion in charges from the sale of mortgage-related investments and fallout from the continued credit crisis.

AP - JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s profit tumbled 84 percent in the third quarter after it took big hits from souring mortgage investments, leveraged loans and home loans.

Reuters - Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama begin a 19-day sprint to Election Day on Thursday after a contentious final debate that featured aggressive McCain attacks on Obama's campaign tactics and tax plans.

Reuters - Insurance giant American International Group Inc is spending money to lobby states to soften new controls on the mortgage industry, the Wall Street Journal said.

Reuters - JPMorgan Chase & Co's quarterly profit fell 84 percent, due to mark-downs on underperforming loans, but the results still beat analysts' forecasts.

AP - JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s profit tumbled 84 percent in the third quarter after it took big hits from souring mortgage investments, leveraged loans and home loans.

AP - The Bush administration's latest effort to resolve the financial crisis embraces an approach it had resisted just a few weeks ago.