Greenspan Supports Homeowner Debt as Prices Increase - 2004-03-22
U.S. homeowners have accumulated a record $6.82 trillion of mortgage debt as real estate values surged in the past decade, and have borrowed against their homes for spending money.

``We know that increases in home values and the borrowing against home equity likely helped cushion the effects of a declining stock market during 2001 and 2002,'' Greenspan said in a Feb. 23 speech in Washington.
Read the full story at Bloomberg.com

Wal-Mart Tops Fortune 500 List Again - 2004-03-22
A tail wind of better economic conditions pushed many major companies to record revenues in 2003, but none was able to knock Wal-Mart Stores Inc. off the top of the Fortune 500 list.

Conspicuously absent was mortgage giant Freddie Mac, No. 32 on the 2002 list. That's because its most recent financial statements were unavailable due to an accounting scandal.
Read the full story at Pioneer Press