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.

Parsing the Fed's St 5a8 atement: Experts Weigh In (The Motley Fool) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 20:12:40 GMT The Motley Fool - Surprise, surprise. As expected, the Federal Reserve on Tuesday held short-term interest rates unchanged at historic lows and maintained that it will keep rates low for an extended period of time. The central bank also reiterated its pledge to stop buying mortgage-backed securities at the end of this month. However, the Fed did upgrade its assessment of the economy.

Moving target: Goal for foreclosure aid in dispute (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:52:52 GMT AP - Last year, the message was clear. Now it is murky.

Wells Fargo signs up for loan modification program (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:15:36 GMT AP - Wells Fargo & Co. has become the second bank to sign up for a government program to modify second mortgages.

Bailout watchdog to audit gov't mortgage program (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 17:12:49 GMT AP - The federal bank bailout watchdog is planning to scrutinize the formula used by mortgage companies to evaluate borrowers for the Obama administration $75 billion mortgage relief program.

Fannie Mae slashes mortgage investment forecast (Reuters) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:25:41 GMT Reuters - Fannie Mae, the largest provider of U.S. residential funding, on Wednesday slashed its forecast for residential investment this quarter following a "setback" in home sales, and warned on its impact on the economic recovery.

Getting a Mortgage Without Perfect Credit (BusinessWeek) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:08:44 GMT BusinessWeek - The government keeps promoting programs designed to help existing homeowners refinance their mortgages at a lower rate, as well as get perspective buyers into homes. In other words, Uncle Sam says he's here to help. "Phooey," say homeowners and prospective homeowners, who keep complaining that it is ridiculously hard to get a mortgageor refinance one. Can both sides be right? Unfortunately, yes. But if you are willing to do a bit more work than in the past, it is possible to lower your mortgage rate to 5% or arrange to buy your first home. It is clear that there is pent-up demand to do both. ...

When Will Mortgage Rates Go Up? (BusinessWeek) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 12:08:44 GMT BusinessWeek - Over the last several months, I've written a lot about the current state of residential real estate, and the opportunities made available by the combination of lower housing prices and falling interest rates. As we approach the end of this year's residential real estate buying-and-selling season, this is a good time to start thinking about what might lie ahead.

Korea Life gains; buoys hopes for Samsung Life IPO (Reuters) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 08:21:57 GMT Reuters - Korea Life Insurance Co (088350.KS) shares closed up 8 percent in heavy trading on their debut on Wednesday, signaling keen demand ahead of bigger rival Samsung Life's planned $4 billion IPO in May.

Visteon judge won't halt benefits termination (AP) Personal Finance News - Yahoo! News - Wed, 17 Mar 2010 03:06:54 GMT AP - A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday refused to halt implementation of his order allowing auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. to terminate its retirees' health and life insurance benefits.