Reports of Arizona mortgage fraud spiked last year — mirroring a nationwide trend, as lenders scrutinized deals more closely and falling home prices unmasked shams.

Attorney General Tom Horne is warning Arizona residents to be on the lookout for a mailer that asks for illegal up-front fees to join a national lawsuit.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Bank of America says it will spend more than $10 billion to settle mortgage claims resulting from the housing meltdown.

WHAT HAPPENED: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke urged Congress on Tuesday to bolster regulation of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and suggested limiting their massive holdings to guard against any danger their debt poses to the overall economy.

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has released details of how the state will utilize $57 million in mortgage settlement funds.

SAN FRANCISCO - When Linda Martin refinanced the mortgages on three different houses nearly three years ago, she thought the lower monthly payments would help her save more money for retirement.

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.

THE WHITE HOUSE

THE WHITE HOUSE

Saying "job creators'' need some more incentive, Arizona lawmakers took the first steps Monday to reducing -- and in some cases eliminating entirely -- any state income tax on capital gains.

Text of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, as provided by the White House:

Text of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, as provided by the White House:

Text of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address, as provided by the White House:

In a turnaround that may be nothing short of amazing, the price of the average home in Arizona rose more in the last year than anywhere else in the country.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, a division of Wells Fargo Bank, will have a hiring event 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Jan. 9 and 10 at the Phoenix Convention Center to fill more than 900 new jobs.

A day-long conference on homeowners’ rights under the National Mortgage Settlement will be at the Arizona State University Homeowner Advocacy Unit at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law on Oct. 19.

College graduates typically earn more than non-college graduates over their lifetimes, yet the average 30-year-old who earned a bachelor’s degree in 2004 is most likely ineligible today for a home mortgage because of a high debt-to-income ratio.

A survey shows U.S. home prices rose 10.5 percent in March compared with a year ago, the biggest gain since March 2006.

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.

WASHINGTON - John McCain and Barack Obama outlined steps to counter the faltering economy and plummeting stock market on Friday, fresh evidence of the dominant role of pocketbook issues in their race for the White House.

After years in the doldrums, the housing market appears back on track. Home sales and prices are up, and mortgage rates remain near historic lows, reinvigorating the appeal of home ownership.

Most of us already realize “normal” is relative. Yet, we are only human. And as such, we can scarcely stop ourselves from the very-human behavior of seizing every available opportunity to try to quantify and define the term.

WASHINGTON - Residential construction activity picked up in December, helping to make all of 2003 the best year for home builders in a quarter-century and underscoring the critical role the sector played in the economy's resurgence.

With the economy expected to continue its moderate recovery next year, where are the best place for investors to park their money?