Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to suspend US home foreclosures (AFP)

<p>AFP - The two US mortgage finance giants, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said on Thursday they halt home foreclosures until early January as they modify loans to help keep owners in their homes.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac halting foreclosures (AP)

AP - Mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are suspending foreclosures for about 16,000 households during the holiday season.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac halt some foreclosures (Reuters)

</a>Reuters - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two biggest home loan finance companies, on Thursday said they would suspend foreclosures of occupied homes until early 2009, one of the biggest moves to date by the government to stem the tide of evictions and home losses.

US thrifts swing to $4B loss in 3Q (AP)

AP - U.S. thrifts lost $4 billion in the third quarter as they set aside $7.9 billion to cover losses from bad mortgages and other loans amid worsening conditions in the U.S housing market, their government regulator said Thursday.

Banks, raters face subprime lawsuits and new rules (Reuters)

Reuters - The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis has sparked more than 250 class action suits against Wall Street banks and rating companies and will lead to rising regulation in 2009, top litigators said on Thursday.

San Francisco-area homes sales jump nearly 39 percent (Reuters)

Reuters - Home sales in the San Francisco Bay area rose nearly 39 percent in October from a year earlier and the median home price posted a record fall as bargain hunters bought properties in markets hit hard by foreclosures, a report on Thursday said.