A foreclosure sign tops a sale sign outside an existing home on the market in northwest Denver in file photo above. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Mortgage Firms Agree to $25 Billion Foreclosure-Abuse Pact

U.S. states have reached a $25 billion deal with the nation's biggest mortgage lenders over foreclosure abuses that occurred after the housing bubble burst. Five major banks — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Ally Financial — will reduce loans for nearly 1 million households. They will also send checks of $2,000 to about 750,000 Americans who were improperly foreclosed upon. [Full Story]

Bove: 'Mortgage Deal From Hell' Punishes Responsible Homeowners

A "mortgage deal from hell" between federal and state governments with big banks under which the latter will fork over more than $25 billion to aid struggling homeowners will do mainly one thing: punish responsible borrowers, says banking analyst Dick Bove.... [Full Story]

Barton Biggs: Low Volume Means Bull Run May Last

Stock trading around the world fell to the lowest level since at least [Full Story]

El-Erian Says Greece Agreement Likely Questionable

The agreement likely struck by Greek political leaders today may be [Full Story]

Buffett: Bonds Among Most Dangerous Assets on Inflation Risk

Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said [Full Story]

Byron Wien: US Treasury Bonds Are Popular Due to Global Fear

U.S. Treasurys have become a popular investment mainly due to fear gripping [Full Story]

Gasoline Tops $3 a Gallon in All 50 States

Gasoline prices are averaging over $3 a gallon in all 50 states for the [Full Story]

Tax Foundation: Payroll Tax Cuts Do Little For Economy

Payroll tax cuts won't stimulate the economy but corporate income tax cuts [Full Story]

PNC Wealth’s Bill Stone: Stocks Are Still Cheap, so Buy Now

Stocks may have risen pretty high in the past month, and the S P 500 Index [Full Story]

Harris Bank's Jack Ablin: Stocks Set to Surge 10%

The Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index has risen 7 percent so far this year, [Full Story]

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Finance News

Mortgage Firms Agree to $25 Billion Foreclosure-Abuse Pact

Five U.S. banks will pay more than $25 billion in the biggest civil settlement involving states and the federal government to end a probe of abusive foreclosure practices stemming from the collapse of the housing bubble. [Full Story]

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Economy

Postal Service Loses $3.3 Billion, Warns of Cash Drain

The U.S. Postal Service is reporting quarterly losses of $3.3 billion, hurt by declining mail volume and mounting costs for future retiree health benefits. [Full Story]

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Companies

PepsiCo to Invest $600 Million in Brands, Cut 8,700 Jobs

PepsiCo Inc. said it planned to pour $500 million to $600 million into its brands this year as it aims to improve sales in North America, where it lags behind archrival Coca-Cola Co. [Full Story]

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Markets

Iran Paying for Grain With Gold, Oil

Iran is seeking to close grain purchases using gold and oil as payment, and has paid in yen for a large volume of wheat in its first deal since western sanctions against Tehran started choking imports of food staples, European wheat exporters said. [Full Story]

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Investing & Analysis

Harris Bank's Jack Ablin: Stocks Set to Surge 10%

The Standard & Poor's 500 Stock Index has risen 7 percent so far this year, and it likely has at least another 10 percent to go, says Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of Harris Private Bank. [Full Story]