The U.S. economy is expected to shrink 0.4% in 2009 compared with 2008, according to the monthly survey of 49 economists published Monday by Blue Chip Economic Indicators.

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AP - The FBI is investigating several companies that allegedly bilked Native Hawaiian homeowners out of more than $300,000 by offering bogus foreclosure rescue bonds.

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AP - Homebuilders’ confidence in a near-term housing recovery sank to a new all-time low this month, reflecting growing worries over the U.S. financial crisis, rising unemployment and weakening consumer confidence, an industry trade association said Tuesday.

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AP - Home prices fell in a record four out of five U.S. cities in the third quarter as low-cost foreclosures flooded the market and the U.S. housing market’s decline spread throughout the country.

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AP - Lawmakers complained Friday that the Bush administration is ignoring the will of Congress and slighting homeowners on the verge of foreclosure in its latest approach to spending $700 billion in economic rescue money.

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AP - Publicly breaking with the Bush administration’s official stance, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. proposed Friday to use $24 billion in government funding to help 1.5 million American households avoid foreclosure.

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AFP - The US banking system regulator Friday proposed a 24.4 billion-dollar program to restructure troubled home loans to avert foreclosures.

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Reuters - The Treasury Department is “aggressively” looking at ways to reduce skyrocketing home foreclosures under a $700 billion financial rescue program that so far has aimed at shoring up banks, the official in charge of the program said on Friday.

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