Treasury's Barr to testify on Fannie and Freddie (Reuters)

Reuters - Michael Barr, assistant treasury secretary for financial institutions, and Edward DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency will testify on Capitol Hill next week on the future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac .

Capstead Mortgage shares fall on dividend cut (AP)

AP - Shares of Capstead Mortgage Corp. fell Friday after the real estate investment trust cut its dividend for the fifth straight quarter.

Panel to look at Department of Finance

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has named the members of a review panel, which will look at his department.

Early Glance: Finance companies

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of some top finance companies are mixed at 10 a.m.: Bank of America rose $.06 or .4 percent, to $13.56. Citigroup unchanged at $3.91. JPMorgan Chase fell $.08 or .2 percent, to $40.02.

Finnish Finance Ministry Raises Growth Forecast

Finland's finance ministry on Friday raised the economic growth forecast for this year to 2.1% from March's 1.1%, citing higher demand.

EL finance board backs spending $740,000 for lot

The Board of Finance has unanimously endorsed spending $740,000 to purchase the Mobil gas station property in downtown Niantic. Residents will have the final say on the matter at a special town meeting scheduled Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 6:30 p.m.

Finance: Lexi Metherell

The latest finance news here and abroad with Lexi Metherell.

Lonsdale Finance Choice and Acceptance Finance join forces

The lending solutions arm of Lonsdale Financial Group, Lonsdale Finance Choice (LFC), has entered into a joint venture agreement with Melbourne-based finance and leasing firm Acceptance Finance.

Mortgage rates edge up; Housing market still slow (AP)

AP - Record-low mortgage rates failed to pull the housing market out of its funk. Now rates are inching higher, but don't blame them if home sales stay sluggish.

Retire Rich While Others Work Forever (The Motley Fool)

The Motley Fool - The looming cloud hanging over our collective financial future has a big, fat silver lining -- if you bother to look for it.

3 Texas men indicted in Va. in $103M scam (AP)

AP - A federal grand jury in Richmond has indicted three Texas men for allegedly defrauding investors in their life insurance settlement businesses.

Yahoo Finance Chief Finds New Employer

Yahoo Finance has long been a top property in its field, beating everything even giants like Google and Microsoft could come up with. Unfortunately for Yahoo, Steve Schultz, the head of Yahoo Finance, found another job this week. "Unfortunate" isn't at all the same as "disastrous," of course. Yahoo Finance didn't rely on daily or monthly updates to stay ahead of the competition, and Schultz ...

Finance Ministry to present 0.1 pct real estate tax draft in 2010

Russia's Finance Ministry will present amendments to the country's Tax Code this year to replace the land tax and an individual property tax with a 0.1 percent tax on real estate tied to market prices.

Bulgarian Finance Minister: Tax Hike Is Mandated by EC

Bulgarian Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, appeared before MPs to answer questions about the tax amendments and the health care crisis. Photo by BGNES

FDIC's Bair warns of government "exposure" in mortgages (Reuters)

Reuters - A key U.S. banking regulator raised concern on Wednesday about the risk of "exposure" the government is taking on in the mortgage market and urged more stringent standards for underwriting mortgages.

Financial crisis panel tells NV leaders to be bold (AP)

AP - From mortgage problems to education and budget issues, Nevada leaders on Wednesday delivered a sobering assessment of the state's future as a result of the Great Recession during seven hours of testimony before a federal panel investigating the country's financial meltdown.

Consumers cut back on credit card use once again (AP)

AP - Consumer borrowing fell again in July as households cut back on their credit card use for a 23rd consecutive month, adding more drag on an economy struggling to mount a sustained rebound.

Bankers urge government to pull plug on Fannie, Freddie (Reuters)

Reuters - The federal government should take mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac off life support sooner rather than later, the Mortgage Bankers Association urged on Wednesday.

Freddie Mac to issue new 5-year note due 2015 (AP)

AP - Government sponsored mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Wednesday it plans to issue new five-year notes due on Sept. 10, 2015.

Oppenheimer downgrades H&R Block to 'Perform' (AP)

AP - Tax preparation company H&R Block has struggled for the last two tax seasons and faces uncertainty over the mortgages it still holds from its former lending operations, an Oppenheimer analyst said Wednesday.

What Great Chess Players Can Teach Investors (The Motley Fool)

The Motley Fool - The constant iterative calculation of risk and reward required in every chess move translates well to the investing world. I thought it might be instructive to look at three chess world champions and see how their style matches up to various investment styles. Do you see your own style in any of these Grandmasters?

Summary Box: Mortgage lending falls 1.5 pct (AP)

AP - MORTGAGE APPLICATIONS SLIP: Applications for home loans dipped last week as mortgage rates ticked up slightly from the lowest level in decades, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Mortgage lending down 1.5 pct as rates inch up (AP)

AP - Applications for home loans dipped last week as mortgage rates ticked up slightly from the lowest level in decades.

Finance department cuts revealed

The Department of Finance and Personnel has said it needs to cut its budget by £28.2m by 2014/15.

Home buying up in week, but down 40 percent in year (Reuters)

Reuters - Americans applied to buy homes at the highest pace last week since May, but more than 8 of every 10 loan requests was for a refinancing, Mortgage Bankers Association data show on Wednesday.

Bullish or Bearish? The World's Greatest Investors Debate. (The Motley Fool)

The Motley Fool - The bears and bulls were battling as ferociously as ever over the past month. Let's dive right into the debate, through the words of some of the world's greatest investors.

Small investors quitting Wall Street: SEC boss (AFP)

AFP - The head of the US stock market watchdog said on Tuesday that individual investors have been turning away from equities since a May crash that exposed weaknesses in Wall Street's trading structure.

AIG seeks Sept 21 approval for AIA IPO: sources (Reuters)

Reuters - American International Group Inc plans to seek Hong Kong listing committee approval on September 21, to list its Asian life insurance unit, aiming to raise about $15 billion, two sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Tuesday.

Petrobras sells 64 bln dlrs of stock to fund oil exploration (AFP)

AFP - Brazil's Petrobras unveiled one of the world's biggest share offerings Friday, a sale of up to 64 billion dollars in new stock to finance oil exploration aimed at turning Brazil into a leading oil exporter of the 21st century.

MGIC added $1.2B in mortgage coverage in August (AP)

AP - Private mortgage insurer Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp. said Friday it added $1.2 billion in new primary insurance coverage in August and the number of delinquent loans it insures declined.