U.S. housing regulator targets more support for poor borrowers
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The regulator for U.S. housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac told the two firms on Wednesday to provide more support to low-income Americans taking out mortgages and refinancing home loans.
IMF freezes benchmark currency basket, defers any yuan addition
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund said on Wednesday it will freeze its benchmark currency basket until October 2016, giving markets more time to adjust to the possible addition of China’s yuan as part of a review of global reserve …
Citigroup to pay $15 million to settle U.S. compliance charges
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A unit of Citigroup Inc will pay $15 million to settle civil charges alleging it failed to enforce policies designed to prevent and detect insider trading, U.S. regulators said.
Bill Gross: Fed will hike rates in Sept as financial conditions a priority
(Reuters) – Bond investing guru Bill Gross of Janus Capital Group Inc said in a tweet on Wednesday that the U.S. Federal Reserve will hike rates in September as financial market conditions take precedence over economic conditions.
Craft brewers tap down resistance to Wall Street investors
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Brooklyn Brewery, the craft beer maker operating from New York City’s most populous borough, resisted taking money from investment firms for almost three decades, according to co-founder and Chairman Steve Hindy. Now the brewer of …
Emerging markets rocky, dollar dips before Fed minutes
LONDON (Reuters) – Fears about China’s economy kept emerging markets under heavy pressure on Wednesday, while the dollar eased as traders awaited minutes from last month’s Federal Reserve meeting for any hints on U.S. rate hike plans.
Mortgage applications up in latest week: MBA
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Applications for U.S. home mortgages rose last week as refinancing applications jumped, an industry group said on Wednesday.
Rise of new banks helps Kremlin keep Russia’s economy afloat
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Four private banks with friendly ties with the Kremlin are emerging as big winners from Russia’s economic crisis, helping out dollar-starved companies at a time when large state lenders are hampered by Western sanctions.
Give Greece a chance, says Schaeuble before German vote
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble urged lawmakers to back a third bailout for Greece in a vote on Wednesday, saying while there were no guarantees of success, it would be irresponsible not to give Greeks the chance for a new…
Chinese stocks go on wild ride as economic gloom deepens
SHANGHAI/BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese stock markets took a wild ride on Wednesday, tumbling and soaring in a session that made little sense other than to highlight that investors have almost no faith in a month-long government effort to stabilize them.




