The foreclosure crisis continues to affect increasing numbers of homeowners in the United States, driven by such factors as rising unemployment. Lenders are also suffering the effects of the foreclosure crisis, and having to deal with uncertainties in the credit market that could lead to still further losses. The federal government is seeking to find ways to ease the current economic stress, and recently passed new legislation in hopes of helping recovery come sooner.

Housing and Urban Development funding is aimed at neighborhoods that are hard-hit by foreclosure to help to help 48 state neighborhoods to stabilize the situation with foreclosures.

Hearing the word foreclosure if you are a homeowner can make you sick to your stomach. There are things you can do to stop foreclosure.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Housing and Urban Development has launched a new website for consumers seeking information about the Obama Administration's Making Home Affordable loan modification and refinancing program.

President Obama has ordered the Treasury Department to implement his promised tax cuts as quickly as possible. In his weekly radio address the president said, "I'm pleased to announce that this morning the Treasury Department began directing employers to reduce the amount of taxes withheld from paychecks, meaning that by April 1st, a typical family will begin taking home at least $65 more every month."

Eli Tene, loss mitigation expert in real estate field, sends open letter to government officials urging serious consideration and education of a short sale.

From the White House: The housing plan President Obama unveiled today could directly help up to 9 million people -- but indirectly, it will help all of us.

President Obama has unveiled his housing plan a day after signing his stimulus into law. The Housing Plan has been eagerly awaited, as the stimulus has been subject of much controversy and the banking bailout has been met with disapproval.

The White House has this morning posted a full explanation of what the upcoming homeowner bailout may mean. The details of the Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan are explained from the following information coming from the White House's website.

RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™, which shows a total of 3,157,806 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 2,330,483 U.S. properties during the year, an 81 percent increase in total properties from 2007 and a 225 percent increase in total properties from 2006.

Homeowners and consumers need a Special Victims Unit, because the government is bailing out criminals. Economist calls for homeowner bailout not bank.

How did billion become the new million? Well, that's the trillion-dollar question. And as the year comes to a close, everyone is looking backwards to figure it out. But in the deluge of financial news this year, many stories are bound to get overlooked. So here are three of this year's forgotten scandals from the subprime mortgage crisis and the subsequent market collapse: