Banks fail to disclose full mortgage data - 2004-01-08
The lowering of interest rates over the last few months has led many people to ponder about refinancing their mortgages: paying off the old one and taking out a new one at a lower interest rate.

But when they ask their banks for details about how much this would cost, they frequently receive incomplete information - leading them to make incorrect financial decisions.
Read the full story at Ha'aretz

Subsidies for rich mortgage lenders generate little returns - 2004-01-08
During the Great Depression, Congress created an institution to furnish banks with money they could lend for home mortgages. By buying banks' home loans with cash, the Federal National Mortgage Association encouraged banks to make new loans, propping up communities across the country.

Congress spun off the institution as a private company in 1968, and it now goes by its catchy acronym: Fannie Mae.
Read the full story at USA Today