Margaret Chadbourn

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fannie Mae <FNMA.OB>, the biggest source of money for U.S. home loans, on Wednesday said it would seek $4.6 billion in additional federal aid after reporting a fourth-quarter loss.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fannie Mae <FNMA.OB>, the biggest source of money for U.S. home loans, said on Wednesday it would seek $4.6 billion in additional federal aid after reporting a fourth-quarter loss.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A government watchdog on Wednesday said Fannie Mae <FNMA.OB> and Freddie Mac's <FMCC.OB> regulator needs to curtail the rising cost of their legal expenses since there is no end in sight to the widening taxpayer tab keeping the two firms afloat.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The regulator of housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Tuesday outlined a new strategic plan to Congress on how it will oversee the two firms more than three years after they were taken over by the federal government.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The regulator of housing giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Tuesday outlined a new strategic plan for the two government-controlled firms, stepping into a void left by congressional inaction.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Housing Administration faces "considerable risks" to its finances and the Obama administration will continue to scale back the agency's presence in the mortgage market, the top U.S. housing official said on Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crystal Morello's family pleaded for months with their lender for a cheaper mortgage on their family home in Belleville, Michigan. But time ran out last summer, and they left before they were evicted.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five big U.S. banks accused of abusive mortgage practices have agreed to a $25 billion government settlement that may help roughly one million borrowers but is no magic bullet for the ailing housing market.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Five big U.S. banks accused of abusive mortgage practices have agreed to a $25 billion government settlement that may help roughly one million borrowers but is no magic bullet for the ailing housing market.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday accused the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from blocking the firms from reducing principal on the mortgages they back for reasons of "ideology."

WASHINGTON/CHARLOTTE (Reuters) - State and federal officials are close to a settlement with the largest U.S. banks over mortgage abuses, with states facing an end-of-the-week deadline to decide whether they will sign on, people close to the talks said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration on Friday said it was expanding its main foreclosure prevention program and pushing to open it up to loans backed by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration, in an election-year bid to help distressed homeowners, on Friday expanded its main foreclosure prevention program, and pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive mortgage debt.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union speech before the November election to paint himself as the champion of the middle class, by demanding higher taxes for millionaires and tight reins on Wall Street.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union speech before the November election to paint himself as the champion of the middle class, by demanding higher taxes for millionaires and tight reins on Wall Street.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union speech before the November election to paint himself as the champion of the middle class, by demanding higher taxes for millionaires and tight reins on Wall Street.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The regulator for Fannie Mae <FNMA.OB> and Freddie Mac <FMCC.OB> told lawmakers that forcing the two mortgage firms to write down loan principal would require more than $100 billion in fresh taxpayer funds.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States deputy Treasury secretary and deputy secretary of State will travel to Israel, the West Bank and Tunisia next week to discuss diplomatic and economic relations, the Treasury Department said on Friday.

GAFFNEY, South Carolina (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum has a blunt message for voters such as Jim Shackleford who are trapped by falling housing prices: You're on your own.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department named eight individuals and entities on Thursday as drug traffickers, including a Guatemalan drug lord believed to be one of the most prolific Central American narcotics traffickers, and banned Americans from having any dealings with them.