The Treasury Department is reportedly in talks with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seeking ways to help drive down mortgage rates. But it is unclear how much the plan might help—and whom it might help. We’re joined by Cristian deRitis, director of Credit Analytics Group at Moody’s Economy.com

Last week's whipsawing stock market and steady march of gloomy economic indicators were enough to make anyone's head spin. BusinessWeek's Jim Ellis helps The Takeaway start off the week with a clear sense of just where the economy is going, and what it's likely to mean for our everyday lives.

The bailout has failed…for now. The markets are tumbling and then jumping up again. It’s harder than ever to get a mortgage, to get credit, to get a car loan. We all know where Wall Street is turning for help. But where should Main Street look for advice? The Takeaway continues the conversation with Harriet Johnson Brackey, personal finance columnist for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

A first try at a bailout has failed in the House and the markets are volatile. It's harder than ever to get a mortgage, to get credit, to get a car loan. We all know where Wall Street is turning for help. But where should Main Street look for advice? The Takeaway turns to Harriet Johnson Brackey, personal finance columnist for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

Stock markets around the world continue to react enthusiastically to the news of Washington's takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Banks are doing especially well. Markets in Britain, France and Germany are up at least three percent.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson described mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as “interwoven into our financial system.” The government’s takeover of the two giants will have very real effects on mortgage holders, mortgage seekers, and taxpayers.

Asian markets rallied today [Monday] on news of the U.S. government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But Peter Stein, Hong Kong bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, says Asia may be overreacting--there are still big problems with the housing market and the U.S. economy...He also wonders how the U.S. will continue to advocate liberalization of markets in Asia while practicing such a massive intervention at home.

What seemed unlikely has happened: On Sunday, the Bush Administration took control of mortgage heavyweights Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in an effort to stabilize the housing market and U.S. economy.

Guest: Charles Duhigg, The New York Times

Guests: Krishna Garlic, executive director of the non-profit tour company, Brand New Day, in Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Mignon Blanchard, a pre-foreclosure candidate selling her house with the assistance of Brand New Day.

Guests: Cheryl Einhorn, Takeaway economy guru and adjunct professor of Business, Economic and Financial journalism at Columbia University

Senator Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, indicted on seven counts of making false statements by a federal grand jury Tuesday, has represented Alaska for 40 years.

Senator Ted Stevens has been indicted on seven counts of making false statements. The 84-year-old Alaska Republican and former chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee is accused of falsely reporting hundreds of thousands of dollars in services he received from a company that helped renovate his home. In 2005, Stevens became a lightning rod for critics of wasteful spending when he backed a costly "bridge to nowhere" in his home state. It ultimately was not funded.

President Bush summed up America's recent economic woes this week with four cool words: "Wall Street got drunk." The Takeaway asked you for more catchy crisis slogans.

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are scheduled to take up a proposed bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It’s a bill that has President Bush and congressional Democrats seeing eye-to-eye.

A Miami Herald investigation has revealed that thousands of convicted felons, including bank robbers and people convicted of drug, fraud and grand larceny were allowed to write mortgages, costing state residents millions of dollars.

The nation's largest mortgage finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, are in trouble. So much so that the White House announced a plan Sunday to show stock markets and debt markets that the government has their back.

It’s been almost three years since Hurricane Katrina pounded New Orleans. Now the local government is taking a new measure to restore the city to its upright, pre-Katrina state. On July 1, 2008, the City of New Orleans started enforcing pre-Katrina zoning ordinances that prohibit people from living in trailers on private property. But this push toward normalcy could backfire if it pushes residents into homelessness. The Takeaway looks at both sides of this story with a New Orleans civil rights legal advocate and a city official.

Guest: Nicolas Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University