AFP - US regulators Thursday filed civil fraud charges against the former chief executive of failed mortgage giant Countrywide Financial, saying he misled investors about the company's risky loans.

AP - A former Wall Street broker facing criminal charges linked to the subprime mortgage meltdown has become the target of an international manhunt, federal authorities said Friday.

BusinessWeek Online - Stocks of homebuilders have had an impressive run recently, thanks to a stream of improving macroeconomic data, including home sales and consumer confidence, climbing an average of 38% since March 9. But will the recovery last? Recent gains in long-dated U.S. Treasury yields augur rising mortgage rates, while the likelihood of increasing foreclosures could further bloat the housing supply in the months ahead.

AP - The government will provide another $3.1 billion to a group of mortgage servicing companies as an incentive to modify loans to combat record levels of foreclosures.

AP - President Barack Obama's plan to transform the Federal Reserve into a super-regulator ran into skepticism Thursday from lawmakers who worry that the central bank is not the best suited to keep an eye on firms deemed so big and influential that their demise could hurt the economy.

AP - A key industry group on Monday slashed its estimate for mortgage volume by 27 percent because of higher interest rates and the slow start to the government's refinance program.

Reuters - American International Group Inc , which received $180 billion of taxpayer bailouts, said it will give the government stakes in two big life insurance units that it plans to spin off.

Reuters - U.S. consumer spending rose last month for the first time since February as government stimulus pushed incomes sharply higher, the Commerce Department said on Friday, supporting the view the economy was close to pulling out of recession.