Reuters - Auto retailers swung to a quarterly loss in the third quarter, beaten down by the decline in U.S. car sales, tight consumer credit, and a weakening U.S. economy as well as hurricane-related damages.

Reuters - The U.S. Treasury Department is studying how it could give relief to insurance companies under a $700 billion financial services rescue package, two sources familiar with the deliberations said on Friday.

Reuters - The U.S. Treasury Department is closely studying how it could give relief to bond and mortgage insurance companies under a $700 billion financial services rescue package, two sources familiar with the deliberations said on Friday.

AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped sharply this week, falling to the lowest level in five weeks.

Reuters - U.S. officials said on Thursday they were weighing the possibility of government guarantees for troubled mortgage loans to try to induce lenders to modify terms and slow a rising tide of home foreclosures.

Reuters - A Bear Stearns mortgage portfolio backed by the U.S. government racked up $2.7 billion of losses in the third quarter, amounting to a 9 percent decline on about $30 billion of assets, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

Reuters - Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac has asked a U.S. bankruptcy judge for the ability to conduct an investigation into $1.2 billion it claims it is owed by bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc .

Reuters - General Motors Corp is suspending matching payments to employee 401K plans as of November 1 and continues to assess its staffing needs as part of efforts to conserve cash amid a deep downturn in sales, the automaker said on Thursday.

Reuters - A top U.S. banking regulator said on Thursday the government must do more to guarantee mortgage loans to persuade lenders to modify their terms and help ward off a rising wave of foreclosures.

AP - Executives and employees at the major credit ratings agencies were often aware of problems in the AAA grades awarded to thousands of mortgage-related securities whose downgrades helped plunge the nation into a financial meltdown.