AP - American farmers have long worried about the declining population of honeybees, a key crop pollinator. But honeybees originally came from Europe, so can't U.S. farms get by without them — with a little help from good old American bugs whose ancestors were here before Columbus?

AFP - The two US mortgage finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said on Thursday they halt home foreclosures until early January as they modify loans to help keep owners in their homes.

Reuters - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest U.S. home loan finance companies, on Thursday said they would suspend foreclosures of occupied homes until early 2009, as the government moves to stem the tide of home losses plaguing the economy.

Reuters - Stocks plunged to their lowest in five-and-a-half years on Wednesday as investors girded for a lengthy economic downturn and automotive executives predicted a far-reaching calamity without a government lifeline.

Reuters - The government is investigating if homeowners were misled by California bank and mortgage issuer Golden West Financial, which was acquired by Wachovia Corp -- another possible victim.

Reuters - A U.S. Senate subcommittee is opening a probe into causes of the global financial crisis, focusing in part on whether bond-ratings firms, driven by conflicts of interest, boosted mortgage investments which have since collapsed, the Wall Street Journal said.

Reuters - A consortium led by sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp is in talks to buy a stake of up to 49 percent in American Life Insurance Co, a unit of U.S. insurance company American International Group , the Nikkei financial daily reported.

Reuters - Stocks fell on Wednesday as financial shares tumbled and uncertainty over a possible rescue for the auto industry fueled concerns about the deepening economic slump.

Reuters - Construction starts on new homes fell to a record low in October, as did new applications for building permits, a report by the Commerce Department showed on Wednesday, signaling that the national housing downturn may extend well into the future.