Reuters - Spanish builder Ferrovial must sell three of the seven British airports it bought for 10 billion pounds ($18 billion) two years ago under a tougher-than-expected ruling on Wednesday.

Reuters - A joint venture created by LandCap Partners is buying $40 million of troubled land and construction loans from Wachovia Corp The Wall Street Journal said.

Reuters - Stocks were little changed on Wednesday as rising oil prices and nagging concerns about the credit crisis offset a strong outlook and profit from Hewlett-Packard , the world's largest computer maker.

Reuters - Lehman Brothers Chief Executive Dick Fuld nearly struck a deal to raise almost $5 billion from South Korean wealth funds and institutions but the pact disintegrated, the New York Post said citing sources familiar with the matter.

AFP - Chinese share prices surged 5.89 percent by midday Wednesday amid speculation that the authorities will soon launch new measures to boost the ailing stock market, dealers said.

AFP - Investments in the bonds of struggling US home-loan financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have earned Russia more than a billion dollars in the past six months, press reports said Tuesday.

AP - From affluent shoppers at Saks to bargain-hunters at Target, from Home Depot to office supplier Staples, consumers are pulling back and that's hurting retailers and raising more concerns about how they'll do the rest of the year.

Reuters - Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac dove to their lowest levels in more than 18 years on mounting fears of a government bailout that would wipe out shareholders of the two U.S. housing finance giants.

AP - Shares of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continued their plunge Wednesday as investors are increasingly convinced that the stocks will drop to zero if the government bails out the troubled companies.

AP - Mortgage application volume fell last week to its lowest levels in nearly eight years, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.

AP - As mortgage financiers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac struggle with continuing credit losses, their ability to raise needed capital is uncertain and, analysts say, is complicated by the possibility of a government bailout of the two companies.

AFP - Investments in the bonds of struggling US home-loan financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have earned Russia more than a billion dollars in the past six months, press reports said Tuesday.

Reuters - Home building projects started in July fell 11 percent to the lowest annual rate in more than 17 years, while building permits tumbled 17.7 percent, the Commerce Department reported on Tuesday.

AFP - The euro rebounded from six-month lows against the dollar after weak US housing market figures stoked fresh concerns over the outlook for the US economy.

AP - Whether or not the government is actually on the verge of taking over mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, investor fears that a bailout is imminent could turn such a worst-case scenario into reality.

AP - Wall Street fell sharply for a second straight session Tuesday after a hefty jump in wholesale inflation and a drop in new home construction gave investors more reason to believe an economic recovery is far off. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 130 points.

AP - In the mortgage industry, they are called "liar loans" — mortgages approved without requiring proof of the borrower's income or assets. The worst of them earn the nickname "ninja loans," short for "no income, no job, and (no) assets."

Reuters - Investors dumped shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday after a newspaper report said government officials may have no choice but to effectively nationalize the U.S. housing finance titans.

Reuters - U.S. stocks sank on Monday as the prospect of more losses from the mortgage crisis hurt the shares of banks and the two biggest home finance providers, pushing all three major indexes down about 1.5 percent.

AFP - The US Treasury swiftly played down a media report Monday that suggested the government could be poised to extend significant financial aid to the struggling mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

AP - Two giant mortgage companies get into hot water over risky investments. The government steps in to throw them a lifeline should they need it.

AP - As soaring home prices set the stage for America's great housing meltdown, a critical step in making sure those home sales were a fair deal — the real estate appraisal — was undermined from within.

AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages remained at the same level for a third week while rates on other types of home loans posted small declines.