On Saturday a housing rescue bill passed by Congress for sparing 400,000 struggling homeowners from foreclosure. The measure is expected to be signed by President Bush quickly.

It was approved by 72-13 vots during a rare weekend session in the Senate, that let the homeowners refinance into more affordable government-backed loans who are unable to afford their monthly payments, in place of losing their homes. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the troubled mortgage companies also got a temporary financial support and controll is tightened over them by this Bill. Higher limits on loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy and the Federal Housing Administration can insure is allowed which is upto $625,000.

Bush dropped a threat to veto it this week after an argument with Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson who said that for calming markets in the U.S. and abroad the support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was vital. Initially Bush said proposal was a burdensome bailout for irresponsible borrowers and lenders.

Bush opposed $3.9 billion in the bill that would help neighborhoods devastated by the housing crisis buy and fix up foreclosed properties. The administration argues this would hurt homeowners by giving lenders an incentive to foreclose rather than help people stay in their homes.

Supporters said the bill would help to boost the sagging economy and is a long-overdue response to the mortgage meltdown.

Crude oil sinks as new home sales considered as stronger consumer sentiment and falling demand in U.S.

Economic reports calmed nervous investors as the oil prices sank this Friday, by more than $5 this week. Drop in demand also pressured prices to fall reports says.

A survey from the University of Michigan revealed that, consumer sentiments had a boost by government’s economic stimulus package, and the prices fell as new home sales were stronger than expected last month according to government report.

Above reports indicates that the increase in orders for durable goods drive the investors away from oil which has been used as a hedge against economic downturn.

A senior market analyst with Alaron Trading in Chicago said “The investors bought oil because they were worried about the economy”.

The reports from The Dow industrials gave the investors a confidence after a sharp sell off on previous day, the gains were nearly 100 points on Friday morning trading and were still up about 40 points till midday, as investors invest their money in the stocks.

Due to high fuel prices in recent days demand has indeed declined, which in turns causes fall in oil prices as confirmed by reports.

As compared to last year the gasoline demand in the United States had fallen 2.4% from the same period as per a report released on Wednesday from an Energy Department. For the 13th week in a row a weekly survey of filling station credit card swipes from MasterCard recorded a declining demand.

Fall in demand in July is of a main concern as usually Americans use maximum fuel in summers. This helps to push prices down $24 a barrel from a record trading high of $147.27. And some investors fear that the U.S. demand decline may spread to other countries as well.

The tensions between the Western countries, Iran and militant attacks in Nigeria the largest oil producer, has been main concerns that drove oil prices to their record highs.

Chrysler LLC will stop issuing new car and truck leases next week through its financial arm and instead turn its resources to financing loans for customers, it told surprised dealers on Friday. Leases will no longer be an option Aug. 1.

The decision comes as the value plummets for gas-thirsty trucks and SUVs — leaving manufacturers with vehicles with poor value at auction once the leases expire.

On Thursday, the Ford Motor Company took a $2.1 billion write-down in the second quarter, part of an $8.7 billion loss for Ford over all, related to unprofitable leases held by its finance arm, the Ford Motor Credit Company.

Chrysler’s latest sales figures showed a 36% decline in June, with car sales slumping 49% and truck sales down 30%. In the same time period, GM’s car sales declined 21.1% while truck sales slid 16%.

Both automakers have recently cut plants and jobs, and GM’s Hummer brand is currently for sale.

James E. Press, a co-president of Chrysler, said the carmaker would divert money it had been spending to subsidize leases toward offers that make traditional financing more affordable. He said Chrysler would offer discounts so that many customers who financed a vehicle would end up with about the same monthly payment that they would have had in a lease.

A shift from leasing to financing may be a sensible decision for Chrysler, and could set aside big losses due to the fall in resale values.