Moody's, S&P, Fitch Must Face Fraud Claims in Subprime Suit Businessweek Moody's Corp. (MCO), Standard & Poor's and Fitch Inc. must face fraud claims in an investor lawsuit over their ratings of a structured investment vehicle called Rhinebridge that collapsed in 2007, a judge ruled. Morgan Stanley (MS), which helped set up the ...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's plans to leave near the end of January puts the White House in a tricky spot, depriving the Obama administration of its longest-serving economic adviser for its next fiscal showdown with Congress.

Job growth may have improved in December, but economists don't see a turning point yet for the job market. With the pace of hiring running at about 150,000 a month, Friday's unemployment report could show payrolls rose as much as 200,000 last month, according to some of the rosiest forecasts.

The Federal Reserve looks set to continue buying bonds to stimulate economic growth over coming months despite rising concern about the risks of the policy inside the central bank.

Rep. John Boehner was re-elected House speaker on Thursday as the 113th Congress ushered in the new and the old -- dozens of eager freshmen determined to change Washington and the harsh reality of another stretch of bitterly divided government.

The majority of REALTORS® continued to report rising home prices and improving days on the market. However, REALTORS® reported that the market remains hampered by a "demanding and rigid loan qualification process" that has made mortgage underwriting "a nightmare" and "the toughest hurdle." This has led to cash buyers and investors easing out first time [...]

Treasury Secretary plans to leave the administration at the end of January, even if President and congressional Republicans haven’t reached an agreement to raise the debt ceiling, according to two people familiar with the matter. After giving in to Obama’s previous entreaties to stay as long as needed, Geithner has indicated to White House officials and Wall Street executives that he is unlikely to change his departure plans this time, increasing pressure on the president to name his successor at Treasury, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss the private discussions. Geithner, 51, is the only remaining member of Obama’s original economic team and was a key figure in the taxpayer- funded bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis. He’s also had a principal role in negotiations with Congress on the budget deal and in past deliberations over the debt ceiling.

Consumer Comfort in U.S. Climbed to an Eight-Month High Bloomberg Consumer sentiment last week reached an eight-month high, reflecting broad-based gains that indicated even wealthy Americans were less concerned about tax increases and fiscal policy challenges heading into 2013. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort ...

Housing Lobby's Win Costing U.S. $600 Billion: Mortgages Bloomberg Congressional efforts to reduce the U.S. deficit revived tax breaks for mortgage insurance and extended interest deductions for homeowners that will cost the government $600 billion over five years. "This is a meaningful win for the housing lobby generally ...

(Reuters) - Consumers continued to pay down debt in the third quarter of 2012, but slow job growth and the expiration of a tax cut could mean it will become more difficult to repay loans, the American Bankers Association said on Thursday.

The eleventh hour deal reached to avert the fiscal cliff in the U.S. merely masks the bleak long-term outlook for the country, Nouriel Roubini said in an opinion piece published in the Financial Times newspaper on Thursday.