Summary Box: Sallie Mae changes policy on loan fee (AP)

THE NEWS: Private student lender Sallie Mae is changing how it handles a fee that struggling borrowers must pay to temporarily suspend payments.

THE BACKGROUND: A three-month reprieve on payments comes with a $50 fee that Sallie Mae previously did not apply to the loan balance. Now Sallie Mae says it will credit the money toward the loan if borrowers resume on-time payments for six months straight.

WHY NOW: A petition on Change.org asking the company to drop the fee had more than 77,000 signatures as of Thursday. The company said that confirmed its thinking that a change was needed.

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Summary Box: Home building weak in 2011 (AP)

POOR YEAR: December capped a third straight year of depressed home building and the worst on record for single-family construction. Builders started just 606,900 homes, about half the number that economists equate with healthy markets.

WEAKER MONTH: Builders broke ground last month on a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000 homes, the Commerce Department said Thursday. A third straight increase in single-family home building was offset by a drop in volatile apartment construction.

OUTLOOK: Modest improvement at the end of the year lifted hopes for an eventual recovery. But the housing market still appears years away from full health.

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Summary Box: Ex-Fannie, Freddie execs charged (AP)

EXECUTIVES CHARGED: Two former CEOs at mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and four other executives, were charged with civil fraud, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday. They are the highest-profile individuals to be charged in connection with the 2008 financial crisis.

SUBPRIME LOANS: The executives were accused of understating the level of high-risk subprime mortgages that Fannie and Freddie held just before the housing bubble burst.

CRIMINAL CHARGES?: The Justice Department began investigating the firms three years but many legal experts say they don't expect the six executives to face criminal charges.

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Summary Box: Home construction jumped in September (AP)

SEPTEMBER RISE: Home builders started projects in September at the fastest pace in 17 months.

APARTMENTS SURGE: Most of the gain was driven by a surge in volatile apartment construction. That could boost economic growth, but it doesn't signal a comeback for the depressed housing market.

BIG CAVEATS: Single-family home construction, which represents nearly 70 percent of homes built, rose only slightly. Building permits, a gauge of future construction, fell to a five-month low. And the seasonally adjusted 658,000 homes started in September are roughly half the 1.2 million that economists say is consistent with healthy housing markets.

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Summary Box: Citi paying $285M to settle charges (AP)

CITI SETTLES CHARGES: Citigroup is paying $285 million to settle civil fraud charges of misleading buyers of a complex mortgage investment just as the housing market was starting to collapse.

INVESTORS LOST BIG: Citigroup bet against the investment in 2007 and made $160 million in fees and profits, the Securities and Exchange Commission said. Investors lost millions.

BIG PENALTY: The money will be returned to investors. The penalty is the largest involving a Wall Street firm accused of misleading investors before the financial crisis since Goldman Sachs paid $550 million to settle similar charges last year.

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Summary Box: Mortgage rate on 30-year below 4 pct. (AP)

NEW RECORD: Freddie Mac said Thursday the rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell this week to 3.94 percent from 4.01 percent. That's the lowest ever and the first time rates on the loan have fallen below 4 percent in history.

FEW TAKERS: The super-low rates haven't been enough to lift the housing market, which has struggled with bad sales and falling home prices.

BIG OBSTACLES: For many Americans, buying a house is too big a risk when unemployment is high, raises are scarce and millions of foreclosures are forcing down prices. Others can't qualify because of higher credit scores and little or negative home equity.

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Summary Box: Possible move vs S&P may be 1st shot (AP)

POSSIBLE ACTION AGAINST S&P: The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering taking civil action against Standard & Poor's for its rating of a 2007 mortgage debt offering. Should the SEC act, it could be the first shot in a legal assault by regulators against the major credit rating agencies.

RATERS ROLE IN CRISIS: The three major agencies — S&P, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings — gave high ratings to mortgage investments that turned out to be worthless and contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.

WOULD BE A FIRST: If the SEC charges S&P with violating securities laws, it would mark the first time it's brought an enforcement action against a top rating agency.

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Summary Box: Possible move vs S&P may be 1st shot (AP)

POSSIBLE ACTION AGAINST S&P: The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering taking civil action against Standard & Poor's for its rating of a 2007 mortgage debt offering. Should the SEC act, it could be the first shot in a legal assault by regulators against the major credit rating agencies.

RATERS ROLE IN CRISIS: The three major agencies — S&P, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings — gave high ratings to mortgage investments that turned out to be worthless and contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.

WOULD BE A FIRST: If the SEC charges S&P with violating securities laws, it would mark the first time it's brought an enforcement action against a top rating agency.

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Summary Box: Housing starts down 5 pct. in August (AP)

CONSTRUCTION DIPS: Builders began work on a seasonally adjusted 571,000 homes in August, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. That's a 5 percent decline from July and a three-month low.

SINGLE-FAMILY, APARTMENTS: Single-family homes, which represent roughly two-thirds of home construction, fell 1.4 percent. Apartment building plunged 12.4 percent. Building permits, a gauge of future construction, rose 3.2 percent.

BUILDERS WAITING: Home construction is down nearly 6 percent over the past year. But permits are up nearly 8 percent. That suggests builders aren't working on new homes, but may be preparing to start dormant projects when the economy improves.

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Summary Box: Foreclosure activity rises in August (AP)

DEFAULTS RISE: The number of U.S. homes receiving an initial mortgage default notice jumped 33 percent last month from July, as banks stepped up their actions against homeowners who have fallen behind on mortgage payments.

NEW WAVE?: Default notices are the first step in the foreclosure process, so the sharp increase in the number of homes receiving them last month signals a potential new wave of foreclosures.

REPOSSESSIONS DOWN: Even as more homes entered the foreclosure process, lenders took back fewer homes in August. Home repossessions fell 4 percent from July and hit a six-month low.

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Summary Box: Bank of America cuts 30,000 jobs (AP)

THE NEWS: Bank of America is slashing 30,000 jobs, part of an effort to reverse a crisis of confidence among investors that has erased half of the bank's value this year. The bank is facing huge liabilities over soured mortgage investments and concerns over whether it has enough capital.

SAVES $5 BILLION: The cuts represent 10 percent of bank's work force. The bank it hopes to save $5 billion a year by 2014. It has already cut 6,000 jobs this year.

YEAR'S BIGGEST CUT: It's the largest single job reduction by a U.S. company this year and the largest since the Postal Service announced 30,000 job cuts last year.

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Summary Box: Mortgage rates hit record lows (AP)

NEW LOWS: Fixed mortgage rates fell this week to the lowest levels in six decades. The average rate for a 30-year loan hit 4.12 percent; the 15-year loan fell to 3.33 percent.

CAN'T CAPITALIZE: Most Americans can't take advantage of the low rates. Half of would-be buyers don't have enough for a down payment and shrunken home values have erased much of the equity people need to refinance.

SALES WEAK: The low rates have done little to energize sales of previously occupied homes, which are on pace for their weakest year since 1997.

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Summary Box: Banks stocks lead market lower (AP)

RALLY OVER: Stocks fell, ending a four-day rally, after regulators took action against a former Goldman Sachs subsidiary over its mortgage and foreclosure practices. Investors were also worried that a jobs report due out Friday could revive fears of a new recession.

UP, THEN DOWN: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 119.96 points, or 1 percent, to 11,493.57. It rose as many as 103 points shortly after 10 a.m., when a manufacturing report showed evidence of growth in August. It turned lower after regulators announced enforcement actions against a former subsidiary of Goldman Sachs at 1:30 p.m.

RETAIL SALES: Retailers rose after several companies reported August sales gains that beat analysts' estimates.

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Summary Box: Firms failing in foreclosure program (AP)

NOT DOING ENOUGH: Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase & Co. haven't done enough to help people permanently lower their mortgage payments and avoid foreclosure, the Treasury Department said Thursday.

CRITICISM LEVIED: The government first criticized those two lenders, along with Wells Fargo & Co., and Ocwen Loan Servicing, in June and began withholding financial incentives of up to $1,000 per permanent loan modification.

TRYING TO IMPROVE: JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America said they are working to improve their work on the program. Wells Fargo and Ocwen were removed from the list of companies needing "substantial improvement."

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Summary Box: Delinquent mortgages rise (AP)

DELINQUENCIES UP: The number of Americans at risk of foreclosure rose slightly in the April-June quarter to 8.44 percent of all homeowners, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Monday. In a normal market, the percentage of delinquent borrowers is only about 1.1 percent.

LOWER THAN LAST YEAR: Missed mortgage payments have fallen from a record high of more than 10 percent a year ago. But the decline is due partly to delays in foreclosure filings that are backlogged in state courts.

LIKELY TO RISE: The end of an investigation into faulty foreclosure paperwork will likely lead to increased foreclosures later this year.

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Summary Box: Housing starts down in July (AP)

BUILDING DOWN: U.S. homebuilders began work on a seasonally adjusted 604,000 homes last month, a 1.5 percent drop from June. That's half the 1.2 million homes per year that economists say must be built to sustain a healthy housing market.

SINGLE-FAMILY DOWN, APARTMENTS UP: Single-family homes, which represent 70 percent of home construction, fell 5 percent. Apartment building rose more than 6 percent. Building permits, a sign of future construction, declined 3.2 percent.

FEW HOMES BEING BUILT: The number of homes under construction is the fewest in 40 years. Just 413,000 homes are being built, after accounting for seasonal factors. A decade ago, roughly 1.6 million homes were built.

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Summary Box: Home construction rose in June (AP)

JUNE SURGE: Builders broke ground on a seasonally adjusted 629,000 homes last month, a 14.6 percent increase from May. Still, that is roughly half the 1.2 million homes per year that economists say must be built to sustain a healthy housing market.

APARTMENT GAINS: Apartment and condo construction jumped more than 30 percent last month. Renting has become a preferred option for many Americans who lost their jobs and were forced to leave their homes.

SINGLE-FAMILY RISE: Single-family home construction, which makes up 70 percent of the market, saw the biggest increase since June 2009, when the recession officially ended. But analysts said the pace of 453,000 homes per year was still too depressed to signal a turnaround.

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Summary Box: Consumer borrowing up for 8th month (AP)

CONSUMER CREDIT: Americans took on more debt in May for the eighth straight month. The increase pushed total consumer credit to a seasonally adjusted annual level of $2.43 trillion. That's 1.7 percent higher than the four-year low reached in September.

CREDIT CARDS: Borrowing on credit cards rose for only the second time in nearly three years. The category that includes auto and student loans also increased.

OUTLOOK: Borrowing is a sign of confidence in the economy. But economists do not expect sizable gains in coming months. High unemployment, slow wage growth and the weak housing market are making people more frugal.

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Summary Box: Aetna buys Genworth Medicare business (AP)

THE DEAL: Aetna Inc. said Monday it will buy Genworth Financial Inc.'s Continental Life Insurance Co. for about $290 million. Continental Life's business includes Medicare supplement insurance, accident and health coverage and some coverage for funeral services and other financial expenses.

GROWTH OPPORTUNITY: Aetna has about 10,000 Medicare supplement customers and will add roughly 145,000 members with the deal.

WHY: Aetna said Medicare supplement coverage is expected to grow fast in the coming years as baby boomers, the generation of Americans born in the years after World War II ended, reach age 65 and become eligible for Medicare.

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Summary Box: Americans' home equity nearing low (AP)

WASHINGTON – HOME EQUITY FALLS: Average home equity plunged from more than 61 percent at the start of 2001 to 38 percent in the January-March quarter this year, the Federal Reserve said Thursday.

NET WORTH GROWS: Americans' overall net worth grew 1.65 percent in the same period, because of stock market gains. But stock prices have fallen since March.

LITTLE HELP: Normally, when people pay down their mortgages, home equity rises. But many homeowners are paying off mortgage interest and losing equity at the same time. And the outlook for the housing market remains dim, with prices expected to fall through the year.

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