AP - With more than 4 million homeowners behind on their mortgage payments, the government and major banks are scrambling to help at-risk borrowers avoid foreclosure.

Reuters - The regulator for the two largest U.S. mortgage finance companies on Tuesday unveiled a plan that could cut payments for hundreds of thousands of struggling homeowners to help reverse a wave of defaults threatening to swamp the economy.

AP - Once again, the government has offered another plan to help troubled homeowners. Once again, critics say it doesn't go far enough. The plan announced Tuesday by federal officials and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sounds sweeping in its approach: Borrowers would get reduced interest rates or longer loan terms to make their payments more affordable.

Reuters - Citigroup Inc on Monday became the latest major U.S. lender to try to help borrowers stay in their homes, launching a program it said may result in $20 billion of mortgage refinancings.

AFP - Citigroup said Tuesday it was placing a moratorium on foreclosures for most home loan borrowers, and that it would work with some 500,000 stretched mortgage customers to help them keep their homes.

Reuters - Housing agencies announced on Tuesday a plan to ease mortgage payments for troubled borrowers through mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AP - The government and the mortgage industry are launching the most sweeping effort yet to help troubled homeowners by speeding up the process for renegotiating hundreds of thousands of delinquent loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AP - Volatility buffeted Wall Street again Tuesday as the reality hit investors that few industries are safe from the consumer spending slump — whether they're building homes, making cars or selling coffee.

Reuters - Stocks cut losses in afternoon trading on Tuesday, after BlackRock President Robert Kapito said a $30 billion Bear Stearns mortgage portfolio could end up being worth more than its market value implies and housing agencies said they would widen help for homeowners.

AFP - The US government Tuesday announced a sweeping program to ease payment terms for hundreds of thousands of homeowners struggling to service mortgages held by home finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AP - Bad news kept piling up for General Motors Corp. on Monday as its shares plunged to their lowest point in 60 years and the company said in a government filing that the mortgage unit of its finance arm may not survive.

AP - Fannie Mae on Monday posted a $29 billion loss in the third quarter as it took a massive tax-related charge, and warned that its $100 billion lifeline from the government may not be sufficient for its solvency should it continue to lose money.