Reuters - Federal criminal probes into mortgage lending will likely produce many indictments under Barack Obama's presidency, legal experts said on Wednesday.

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Reuters - Stocks sank on Wednesday for the third day after the United States backed away from using its $700 billion bailout to mop up sour mortgages and added to uncertainty about how the government plans to revive bank lending.

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Reuters - The Bush administration on Wednesday largely abandoned its plan to buy up toxic mortgage assets and said it will focus its $700 billion financial bailout fund on making direct investments in financial institutions and shoring up consumer credit markets.

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Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Wednesday after the country's top electronics retailer warned the current business climate was the worst in 40 years, adding to recent economic gloom.

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AP - A disheartened Wall Street has suffered its third straight loss, as investors absorbed more dismal corporate reports and news that the government won't buy banks' soured mortgage assets after all. The Dow Jones industrial fell about 410 points to the 8,283 level, and all the major indexes fell more than 4 percent.

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Reuters - Stocks slid on Wednesday as the United States backed away from its initial plan of using the $700 billion bailout to mop up sour mortgages, worsening economic fears sparked by a slashed forecast from Best Buy.

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Reuters - Congress needs to tackle legal obstacles that prevent mortgage servicing companies from doing more to help distressed borrowers stay in their homes, the head of a U.S. congressional committee said on Wednesday.

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Reuters - Stocks tumbled on Wednesday as gloomy news pointing to the worsening scope of problems buffeting the U.S. economy diminished investors' appetite for risk.

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AP - Wall Street remained weary Wednesday, disheartened by more signs of economic stress — including dismal reports from major retailers, a bleak outlook for the nation's auto industry and additional job cuts in the already beaten-down financial sector.

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AFP - US authorities have scrapped plans to buy up toxic mortgage securities and are shifting the focus of a massive financial rescue plan, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday.

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