AP - With unprecedented speed and cooperation, Congress and the White House forged a deal Thursday to begin rushing tax rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most tax filers by spring, hoping they will spend the money just as quickly and jolt the ailing economy to life.

AP - Sales of existing single-family homes plunged in 2007 by the largest amount in 25 years, closing out an awful year that saw median prices fall for the first time in at least four decades.

AP - Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped for a fourth straight week to the lowest level in nearly four years, raising hopes that low rates will help spur a rebound in the hard-hit housing industry.

Reuters - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell more than expected in December, ending a year that brought the sharpest housing slowdown since 1982 and the first annual drop in prices since the Great Depression.

AFP - Insurance giant Allianz said Thursday it would post a record net profit for 2007 despite a fourth-quarter loss at Dresdner Bank, which took a huge write down in connection with US subprime housing market losses.

AP - French bank Societe Generale said Thursday it has uncovered a 4.9 billion euro ($7.14 billion) fraud — one of history's biggest — by a single futures trader whose scheme of fictitious transactions was discovered as stock markets began to stumble in recent days.