The four-part rescue plan includes an open-ended guarantee to provide as much capital as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac need to stave off insolvency.

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There have been bailouts before, but none that seemed more crucial than that of Fannie and Freddie.

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Mortgage rates may fall a bit initially but probably not enough to quickly halt the decline in home prices.

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THE stock market has opened over 3 per cent higher after the US government gave markets a boost with its intervention to take over mortgage institutions Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Read more...

THE Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens says the central bank did not get it wrong when it hiked interest rates earlier this year, rejecting claims it went too far in its fight against inflation. Read more...

QUEENSLAND rail authority and the train drivers' union have defended the railway safety record following media reports of unsafe practices. Read more...

Devastating Hurricane Ike makes landfall in Cuba, where mass evacuations have taken place in low-lying areas. Read more...

President Bush says the US is taking over two mortgage giants because they posed "an unacceptable risk". Read more...

Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp wins enough seats in legislative elections to retain key powers of veto, say reports. Read more...