Reuters - Europe's biggest bank HSBC Holdings said its profit in the third quarter was ahead of a year earlier as growth in Asia helped offset almost $5 billion in bad debts on U.S. home loans and asset writedowns.

AP - Zsolt Kerecsen, a 34-year-old software developer with three kids and a mortgage, is no high roller. But like thousands of other middle-class Hungarians he gambled by borrowing to buy a home in Swiss francs.

AP - Consumers boosted their borrowing in September, defying expectations for a cutback.

AP - When the government took over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers inherited more than just bad debts. They're also potentially on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in legal fees for the executives at the center of the housing market's collapse.

AP - When the government took over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers inherited more than just bad debts. They're also potentially on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in legal fees for the executives at the center of the housing market's collapse.