Grave business - my financial world

The Bush administration on Tuesday unveiled a new program to modify mortgages and stabilize the battered real estate market, but the plan stops short of providing direct government financial help to at-risk homeowners.
The plan centers on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which between them own or back about 31 million mortgages worth a combined […]

Gasoline prices fell for the 51st straight day, according a survey released Friday by the motorist group AAA.
The average price of regular unleaded decreased to $2.314, a 2.6 cent drop from Thursday. This is the lowest price the nation has seen since February 24, 2007, according to the national survey, which is based on […]

A former Intel Corp. engineer has been charged with stealing trade secrets worth $1 billion from the chip-maker while he worked for its main rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts alleged this week in a five-count indictment that Biswamohan Pani, 33, illegally downloaded more than a dozen confidential documents from Intel’s computer […]

Predicting a bottom for the U.S. stock market has been a thankless task in recent days, with indicators that typically signal the end of selling pressure yielding little help.
The three major U.S. stock indexes are each down around 40 percent for the year so far. But analysts said the bottom may be a long […]

The Bush administration is stepping up private pressure on Congress to accomplish what its public appeals could not: passage of a $700 billion bank rescue.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson spent the past day and a half on the phones and face-to-face with lawmakers and lobbyists, trying to change minds after the House of Representatives […]

Drivers nationwide are paying the price of Hurricane Ike.
The average price of a gallon of gas jerked 12 cents higher over 48 hours as powerful Ike slammed into the Texas coast and shut down the heart of the nation’s refining operations.
According to a survey released by the motorist group AAA on Sunday, the average […]

Washington Mutual Inc (WM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) shares sank 30 percent to a 17-year low and the perceived risk of its debt soared on worries the largest U.S. savings and loan will not find a buyer or raise enough capital to combat soaring mortgage losses.
The stock closed down 98 cents at $2.32 […]

US Airways said Thursday that Merrill Lynch has agreed to buy 19 million of the airline’s shares in a new public offering.
Merrill Lynch (MER, Fortune 500) is the sole underwriter of the deal. The firm’s stock rose 2% in afternoon trading.
The carrier said it requested a suspension in trading "to permit an orderly distribution […]

The Walt Disney Co. says its third-quarter profits surged nearly 9% thanks to revenue growth at ESPN and strong results from its theme park near Paris, where the weak U.S. dollar was helpful.
The family entertainment company said Wednesday that its net profit grew to $1.28 billion in the quarter ending in June, up from […]

Mortgage application volume rose 3.6% during the week ended June 27, according to the trade group Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly application survey.
The MBA’s application index rose to 477.7 during the week, bouncing back from a year-to-date low of 461.3.
Refinance volume increased 4.7% during the week, while purchase volume increased 2.8%. Refinance applications accounted for […]