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Bank of America will soon finalize an $8.5 billion agreement to settle investor claims that Countrywide sold them lousy mortgage-backed securities before the housing bust. Meanwhile, private regulator FINRA is angling to take over the watchdog role for registered investment advisers.

Two crashes in recent years are bad enough, but investors are also facing high-frequency traders, bearish insiders, less-than-honest corporate self-portrayals and a moribund mortgage market. It's no wonder they've lost confidence in the nation's equity markets.

The "robo-signers" at banks who signed thousands of foreclosure-related documents were essentially lying under oath. But perhaps even worse were the lawyers involved: They're the ones who should have known better and put an end to the practice -- but didn't.

A massive loss of confidence in the foundations of property rights and rule of law has occurred. And this loss is having a devastating impact on the housing market.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York may try to force banks to repurchase past-due home loans that back some of the securities it holds. The move would boost the value of the institution's Maiden Lane portfolio, which held $67.4 billion in assets in the week ending July 28, Reuters reported....

Goldman Sachs shares have jumped some 4.7% in pre-market trading to around $152 following the announcement of an agreement with the SEC to pay a record $550 million settlement over fraud claims linked to the subprime mortgage investment known as Abacus.

Morgan Stanley weathers investigations into sales of securities, joining Goldman Sachs on the list of Wall Street firms scrutinized by the SEC.

A freeze in lending triggers a panic in a Western financial capital which then spreads around the globe, eventually tipping several South American countries into default. In a desperate attempt to stem the panic, the central bank steps in as "the lender of last resort" and unleashes a flood of new...

The economy is showing signs of improvement, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday. But that doesn't mean an interest rate hike is around the corner. The Fed said it would keep its benchmark rate "exceptionally low" for an "extended period of time." "Economic activity has picked up following its...

A recent editorial in the Wall Street Journal makes it clear that securitization -- the packaging of thousands of loans into securities -- has all the features of a successful terrorist attack. How so? It entered the financial system without attracting any negative notice at all, found its way into...