Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Wednesday as gloomy news pointing to the worsening scope of problems buffeting the U.S. economy diminished investors' appetite for risk.

AFP - US authorities have scrapped plans to buy up toxic mortgage securities and are shifting the focus of a massive financial rescue plan, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday.

Reuters - The Bush administration on Wednesday publicly backed away from using a $700 billion bailout fund to buy toxic mortgage assets as originally intended, and said it will focus instead on shoring up financial institutions with direct investments.

AP - Wall Street got another dose of painful reality Tuesday and sent stocks diving as investors recognized that few industries are safe from the consumer spending slump — whether they're building homes, making cars or selling coffee. The Dow Jones industrial average lifted off its lows of the day, but still closed down nearly 180 points.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Tuesday as faltering demand at aluminum maker Alcoa and a dismal outlook from Tyco International showed the global economic slowdown is deepening.

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 - 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.