WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve may soon be forced to cut interest rates again, driving them to the lowest level since Dwight Eisenhower was president, amid fears that the shaky economy is about to fall back into recession.

To the surprise of almost no one, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged Tuesday and the stock market roared its approval.

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve is primed to aggressively cut a key interest rate even lower today, racing to contain spreading financial fires that threaten an economic meltdown.

LOS ANGELES - Countrywide Financial Corp. said Tuesday it lost $893 million in the first quarter, as rising loan defaults amid a deepening housing downturn forced the nation's largest mortgage lender and servicer to sharply increase its provision for loan losses and book other credit-related charges.

Back in 2004 the groundwork began on organizing the first state-chartered bank in Pinal County in at least 20 years.

WASHINGTON - More banks are tightening lending standards on home mortgages and other consumer and business loans as a deepening credit crisis exerts a heavier toll on the economy.

The government will buy an ownership stake in a broad array of American banks for the first time since the Great Depression, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said late Friday, announcing the historic step after stock markets jolted still lower around the world despite all efforts to slow the selling stampede.

NEW YORK - On a cold, damp February morning, a car with two members of Freddie Mac’s special fraud investigation unit pulled up to 2175 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Atlanta.

Commercial real estate brokers, developers and others believe the commercial real estate downturn is severe enough to warrant federal assistance.

NEW YORK - A surprised Wall Street bolted higher Tuesday after the Federal Reserve’s historic decision to further slash interest rates and pledge broad support to revive the troubled economy.

BOSTON - If you do banking over the Internet, generally the drill is pretty simple: You enter your user name and password, and away you go.

Michael Day is in the process of organizing Gold Canyon Bank, the first state-chartered bank in Pinal County in more than 20 years.

Profitability remains an unattainable goal for much of the Valley's banking industry, thanks to the ongoing economic downturn.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. - One of Maria Carrillo’s clients said thieves jumped him on payday because they knew he’d leave the check-cashing business with his pockets full of bills.

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke called on the government Thursday to ramp up efforts to stem soaring home foreclosures, which are feeding into the country’s deep economic troubles.

In the 1994 elections, Republicans ended 40 years of Democratic control of the House of Representatives. So in 1995, a vice president of Fannie Mae wrote a letter to Ed Crane, president of the Cato Institute, saying that Fannie Mae intended to give that libertarian, free-market think tank a $100,000 grant.

WASHINGTON -- Banks will have to secure their customers' consent before charging large overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions, according to a new rule announced Thursday by the Federal Reserve.

The Federal Reserve and six other major central banks from around the world slashed interest rates Wednesday in an attempt to prevent a mushrooming financial crisis from becoming a global economic meltdown.

WASHINGTON - A sweeping regulatory plan to improve risk management for the country's largest and most internationally active banks is important to making sure the U.S. financial system remains sound, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday.

The city of Phoenix is launching a plan to invest up to $50 million in public money with banks and credit unions in the metro area with the goal of providing them with the capital to make loans to businesses and individuals.

WASHINGTON - Nevada regulators have shut down Silver State Bank. It was the 11th failure this year of a federally insured bank. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was appointed receiver of the bank, located in Henderson, Nev. It had $2 billion in assets and $1.7 billion in deposits as of June 30.

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve reported Monday that more banks are tightening lending standards on home mortgages, other types of consumer loans and business loans in response to a spreading credit crisis.