Reuters - The Treasury Department is developing a plan to try to reduce mortgage rates on home loans to 4.5 percent on a 30-year mortgage by making fresh investments in those assets, sources familiar with the plan said on Wednesday.

Reuters - The chief executives of the major U.S. auto companies prepared on Wednesday for make-or-break congressional hearings on their request for $34 billion in government bailout loans, while lawmakers considered options including one or more of the Detroit Three going bankrupt.

AP - Financial industry lobbyists are urging the Treasury Department to take steps to lower mortgage rates in an effort to stabilize the housing market.

Reuters - Stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday as investors flocked to shares of Coke and other companies that hold up well in recessions following another round of disappointing economic data and corporate outlooks.

Reuters - Stocks rose for a second day on Wednesday as investors flocked to shares of Coke and other companies that hold up well in recessions following another round of disappointing economic data and corporate outlooks.

Reuters - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is weighing whether to ask Congress for the remaining $350 billion of the financial bailout fund, with White House aides approaching President-elect Barack Obama's transition team about the idea, an Obama aide said on Wednesday.

Reuters - Legg Mason's Bill Miller, a celebrated investor whose stock picking is far off the mark this year, said on Wednesday the "bottom has been made" in U.S. equities.

Reuters - Online retail spending rose 15 percent on the all-important Monday after Thanksgiving from a year earlier, sounding a positive note in an otherwise bleak holiday season.

Reuters - Private employers cut 250,000 jobs in November, an unexpectedly large number and the biggest in seven years, while the service sector, which powers most of the economy, posted its worst slump on record.

Reuters - All options were on the table on Wednesday as congressional committees scrutinized auto company restructuring proposals and an urgent appeal for $34 billion in aid ahead of make-or-break hearings.