Henry M. Paulson Jr., left, the Treasury secretary, and the federal housing chief, James B. Lockhart, at a news conference on Sunday.

The government had hoped to prop up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with explicit federal backing, but investors were not sufficiently comforted.

Daniel Mudd, left, of Fannie Mae and Richard Syron of Freddie Mac are in line to collect millions in severance payments.

The Treasury secretary, Henry Paulson Jr., left, with the federal housing chief, James Lockhart.

A bank-owned house in Moreno Valley, Calif. The decline in home prices is likely to continue.

There have been bailouts before, but none that seemed more crucial than that of Fannie and Freddie.

Herbert M. Allison Jr. has worked at Merrill Lynch and for Senator John McCain.

David M. Moffett, who was appointed chief executive of Freddie Mac on Sunday, helped transform U.S. Bancorp from a small Ohio bank into the nation’s sixth biggest lender.

Altria Group reached an agreement to buy UST, the maker of Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobacco, for about $10.2 billion.

The longtime chief executive of the country’s biggest savings and loan has been forced out because of the company’s mounting losses.

Keith Olbermann, left, and Joe Scarborough. Mr. Olbermann’s liberal show is MSNBC’s most successful.

An ad promoting the idea that readers will buy what is advertised.

From September 2006 to last April, club stores like Sam’s Club and Costco experienced a big increase in shoppers, particularly more affluent ones.

The magazine Good will provide fact sheets on different subjects to the coffee chain.

A trainer, Jillian Michaels, helped a contestant get through a workout on “The Biggest Loser.”

The unsolicited endorsement of Hungry-Girl.com has resulted in increased sales for Tofu Shirataki, with 40 calories a bag.

The Treasury’s schedule of financing this week included Monday’s regular weekly auction of new three- and six-month bills and an auction of four-week bills on Tuesday.

Accounts.

The union that represents 27,000 machinists in Washington State, Oregon and Kansas walked off the job as Boeing’s books are bulging with demand for its planes.

Sarah Palin and one of her daughters with their salmon catch in Alaska, in a family photo supplied without further information.