Mortgage application volume falls 6.2 pct (AP)

<p>AP - Mortgage application volume fell 6.2 percent during the week ended Nov. 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association's weekly application survey.

House Dems Blast Paulson, Back FDIC Foreclosure Plan (Investor's Busines...

Investor's Business Daily - House Democrats on Tuesday embraced a $24 billion Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. plan to curb foreclosures and gave Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson an earful for seeming to resist a broader effort to help ailing homeowners.

Lawmakers, Treasury lock horns on foreclosures (Reuters)

Reuters - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and members of Congress clashed on Tuesday over the best use for the $700-billion financial bailout fund, with lawmakers demanding money to stem a national wave of mortgage foreclosures.

Lawmakers press Paulson on bailout plan changes (AP)

AP - Faced with exasperated lawmakers upset by shifts in bailout strategy, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson launched a spirited defense Tuesday of his handling of the $700 billion program and expressed fresh reservations about tapping the pool for mortgage guarantees to relieve skyrocketing home foreclosures.

Economy - Tuesday (Investor's Business Daily)

Investor's Business Daily - Existing-home prices fell in 120 out of 152 U.S. metro areas in Q3, while 28 enjoyed gains and 4 were unchanged, the Nat'l Assoc. of Realtors said. Mounting foreclosures drove national prices off 9% to $200,500. Total existing-home sales, including single-family and condo, fell 7.7% to an annual rate of 5.04 mil in Q3. Distressed sales accounted for as many as 40% of all sales made.

Regulator halts Fannie housing fund contributions (Reuters)

Reuters - Fannie Mae , the largest provider of money for U.S. home mortgages, on Tuesday said its federal regulator suspended a mandate to set aside money for a housing trust fund.