Bank of America announced a $2.8 billion settlement with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae on Monday. The American-owned firms demanded that Bank of America buy back mortgages whose quality was misrepresented by Countrywide, which is owned by Bank of America. Louise Story, Wall Street and finance reporter for The New York Times analyzes the implications of the settlement.

Back when WikiLeaks wasn’t a household name, editor Julian Assange mentioned to ComputerWorld magazine that he had 5 gigs of information from a Bank of America executive’s hard drive. Then last week, Assange mentioned to Forbes that he has something that may take down “a bank or two,” refusing to specify which ones.

Every Monday, we take a look at the big stories in the week ahead. This week's Agenda, covers foreclosures, midterm elections, calls for UN peace keepers in  Sudan and the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Following news on both big earnings and a fraud suit filed against them by the Securities and Exchange Commission, Goldman Sachs is trying to push back against the kind of publicity that surely inspires some populist rage. In a conference call with reporters yesterday, the company's general counsel wanted to reassure the public that the firm would never knowingly attempt to defraud its clients. But does this language assuage regular investors, or restore confidence in Godlman's dealings?  

• BUSINESS TAKEOUT: A year into the government's loan modification program, the Treasury's internal watchdog says the federal program might fail to prevent foreclosures. Meanwhile, private lender Bank of America announces major changes in how they will treat struggling homeowners. New York Times finance reporter Louise Story discusses whether the public or private sector is in the best position to heal the housing market.

• WASHINGTON TAKEOUT: Sure it's officially law, but that doesn't mean the Senate is going to give health care a rest. Our Washington Correspondent Todd Zwillich sat in on last night's 'vote-a-rama' where Republicans offered amendment after amendment in nine hours of non-stop voting designed to derail the final version of health care reform. He brings us the highlights and the final tally of votes.

Buyer beware: your bank may be trying to protect its revenue stream in the face of increased government scrutiny by adding unnecessary fees to financial instruments like your debit card. A report in today's New York Times says banks are beginning to aggressively market products like automatic overdraft protection fees. Without these fees, banks stand to lose some $20 billion annually.

Yesterday the headlines about Bank of America came fast and furious. The Security and Exchange Comission came to a new settlement deal with Bank of America for $150 million; now it has to be approved by the same judge who threw out a much smaller penalty last year. Louise Story, business and finance reporter for The New York Times, helps us decode the legal actions.