AP - A key House lawmaker wants to make credit rating agencies — widely criticized for failing to give investors adequate warning of the risks in subprime mortgage securities that triggered the financial crisis — collectively liable for inaccuracies.

AP - A key House lawmaker wants to make credit rating agencies — widely criticized for failing to give investors adequate warning of the risks in subprime mortgage securities that triggered the financial crisis — collectively liable for inaccuracies.

AP - Nearly one in three borrowers who applied for a mortgage last year was denied as lenders kept their standards tight as the mortgage crisis accelerated, the government reported Wednesday.

AP - Lenders are ramping up efforts to avoid home foreclosures, but a report by bank regulators says more than half of borrowers who get help fall behind again.

Reuters - The number of home foreclosures in process and delinquent mortgages rose during the second quarter, while home retention actions also increased, U.S. bank regulators said on Wednesday.

Reuters - U.S. mortgage applications fell last week despite the lowest loan rates in four months, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday, in another sign that housing will likely recover slowly from its three-year plunge.

AP - CIT Group Inc.'s shares soared Tuesday on a report that hedge fund manager John Paulson is considering merging the troubled finance company with failed mortgage lender IndyMac Federal Bank. But they plunged after-hours as a separate report said CIT is preparing a debt swap offer that could wipe out taxpayers' investment or could file for bankruptcy protection.

Reuters - U.S. house prices rose for a third month in July, but consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in September as the worst job market in 26 years fueled worries about personal finances, private reports showed on Tuesday.

Reuters - CIT Group Inc shares surged on Tuesday following a newspaper report that hedge fund Paulson & Co wants to combine the cash-strapped lender with a Paulson-affiliated bank once known as IndyMac. But a person familiar with the matter denied the report.

Reuters - U.S. consumer confidence fell unexpectedly in September as the worst job prospects in 26 years fueled worries over personal finances, according to a report released on Tuesday.