AP - French insurer Axa SA said its revenue slipped 3.1 percent in the nine months to September 30 on a steep drop in sales of life insurance and savings products in the U.S. and Britain.

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AP - Britain's Barclays bank said Thursday it has bought the Italian residential mortgage business of Australia's Macquarie bank.

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AP - House prices in Britain fell at their fastest rate in five months in October, taking them back to levels they were at three years ago, the country's biggest mortgage lender said Thursday.

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AP - Third-quarter sales at insurer Old Mutual fell by 4 percent from a year ago as the global economic slowdown eroded demand for life insurance around the world, the company said Thursday.

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AP - When the government took over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, taxpayers inherited more than just bad debts. They're also potentially on the hook for tens of millions of dollars in legal fees for the executives at the center of the housing market's collapse.

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