House GOP calls for Fannie, Freddie phase out (Reuters) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Fri, 19 Mar 2010 20:42:20 GMT Reuters - Republicans in the House of Representatives on Friday recommended the country's top two mortgage finance companies, the recipients of a massive government bailout during the height of the financial crisis, be phased out in four years in order to restore stability to the housing market.

Visteon retirees file emergency motion on benefits (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:39:38 GMT AP - Former workers for auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. are pushing ahead with their fight to preserve their retiree health and life insurance benefits.

Why the U.S. Won't Leave Iraq (The Motley Fool) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:24:44 GMT The Motley Fool - If, like me, you're a fan of Austin-based Stratfor, the highly regarded global intelligence firm, you'll likely have an interest in a report put out recently by the firm's founder and CEO George Friedman called "Thinking About the Unthinkable: A U.S.-Iranian Deal."

The Unseen Risk Stalking Your Portfolio (The Motley Fool) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:57:29 GMT The Motley Fool - It's not the risk of low interest rates or reckless fiscal policy. Nor is it the shaky securitization market or unsustainable GDP growth.

Credit scores can drop after getting loan help (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Fri, 19 Mar 2010 15:26:01 GMT AP - Some homeowners who sign up for the government's mortgage assistance program are getting a nasty surprise: Lower credit scores.

Student aid linked to health care gets a trim (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Fri, 19 Mar 2010 03:04:34 GMT From left, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif, Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-Calif., Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-NY and Rep. Pedro Pierluisi, D-PR, are seen before announcing their support, along with other members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, for the health care reform bill on Thursday, March 18, 2010 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Lauren Victoria Burke)

America's Most Underwater Housing Markets (U.S. News & World Report) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:09:27 GMT U.S. News & World Report - Negative equity--what you have when you owe more on your home loan than the property is worth--is one of the defining features of the still-unfolding mortgage crisis. It's a particularly nasty problem because it can lead to all sorts of unpleasant outcomes for the real estate market and the economy as a whole. Having negative equity, which is also known as being "underwater" on a mortgage, makes homeowners more likely to end up in foreclosure. It restricts a borrower's ability to refinance or buy another home, which in turn stifles demand for housing. ...

Five Homegrown Growth Stocks (The Motley Fool) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:03:04 GMT The Motley Fool - Proponents of diversification extol the virtues of spreading your investments over different assets, sectors, and geography. The last part in this holy trinity geography is particularly captivating to a growing cadre of investors.

Mortgage rates still below 5 percent (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:16:37 GMT AP - Mortgage rates held below the 5 percent threshold for the third straight week as the Federal Reserve prepares to end a program that has kept rates at or near record lows.

Fed's Bernanke sees U.S. backing Fannie, Freddie debt (Reuters) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:07:33 GMT Reuters - Current Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage-backed securities are likely to retain U.S. government backing should Congress create a new system for financing U.S. homes, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday.