Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the nation's four biggest banks were ready to kick-start a market for covered bonds that could help significantly expand home mortgage financing.

AP - Franca Tantillo puts rising fuel prices in the same category as the springtime hail storm that wiped out part of her strawberry crop. Both cut into the profit she can make at the farmers markets she sells at in New York City, about 135 miles south of her farm.

Reuters - The Bush administration on Monday projected the U.S. budget deficit will soar to a new record of nearly half a trillion dollars in fiscal 2009 as a housing-led economic slowdown cuts into government revenues.

AP - A national survey shows gas prices have dropped a fraction below the $4-dollar mark.

Reuters - U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a vote of confidence to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, saying he had made some good decisions in difficult circumstances.

Reuters - Presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a vote of confidence to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, saying he had made some good decisions in difficult circumstances.

Time.com - Senator John Warner wants to enforce a national speed limit as an answer to soaring gas prices

Reuters - Presidential candidate Barack Obama gave a vote of confidence to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, saying he had made some good decisions in difficult circumstances.

AP - Wall Street ended a volatile week with uneven gains Friday after better-than-expected economic data placated a market pummeled a day earlier by concerns about housing and the financial sector.

AFP - New US home sales ticked down in June, government data showed Friday, but the better-than-expected figures sparked a glint of hope that the worst housing slump in decades may be scraping bottom.

Reuters - Stocks rose on Friday as a drop in oil prices, and stronger-than-expected data on consumer sentiment and housing blunted the latest concerns about the health of U.S banks.