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NEW YORK — The stock market ended its worst August since 2001 with meager gains Tuesday after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed officials’ increasing concern about the economy.

Stock indexes gave up most of their gains in mid-afternoon after the release of minutes from the Fed’s Aug. 10 meeting. Fed officials said during their discussions that they recognized that the economy might need further stimulus beyond the purchases of government debt the central bank announced that day. Some of the officials acknowledged that economy had softened more than they had anticipated.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — You could be contributing to a retirement plan without even knowing it.

That’s because an increasing number of companies are offering “opt-out” 401(k) plans that encourage more workers to save

The percentage of employers that offer automatic 401(k) enrollment has increased dramatically to 38%, according to financial services company Charles Schwab (SCHW, Fortune 500). That’s more than seven times the rate in 2005, when automatic enrollment was at 5%.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The president’s signature foreclosure rescue plan is losing its punch, according to a federal report released Friday.

Only 36,695 troubled homeowners received long-term mortgage modifications in July under the Obama administration’s Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP. This brings the total to 434,717 borrowers who have successfully made it out of the trial phase.

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A month ago, 51,205 delinquent borrowers were given long-term assistance.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The credit market may finally be starting to thaw out, according to a report from the Federal Reserve.

The Fed said Monday that banks relaxed their lending standards over the last quarter, with the most improvement at big banks.
While most banks said demand for business and consumer loans was unchanged, large banks — those with assets greater than $20 billion — eased their lending conditions.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The Obama administration is making $3 billion in additional funds available to help troubled homeowners avoid foreclosure.

One part of the plan, announced Wednesday, includes a new $1 billion program that will offer loans to unemployed borrowers at risk of losing their homes. The loans, which will be dispersed through nonprofit and housing agencies, will carry 0% interest and be good for a maximum of $50,000 for up to two years.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — As mom-and-pop businesses struggle to make ends meet, the latest attempt to help them has gotten mired in Washington politics.

The debate began in October, when President Obama started pushing ways to get cheap capital to small businesses. It continued after his State of the Union address, in which he touted the proposal.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The housing bust has made owning a home a lot more affordable — but in some places, prices are extraordinary; you can buy a nice condo for less than the cost of a new family car.

Some cities have dozens of attractive condominium listings selling for $50,000 or $25,000. There are some selling for less than a new Toyota Corolla. And these are not derelict hovels in crime-ridden communities: These homes are often in move-in condition and located in nice neighborhoods.

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LONDON — Send an e-mail to a fund manager at the moment and the chances are high you will get a bounced reply telling you that he/she is out of the office.

The week ahead marks the start of August, a period that can be — but is by no means always — one of reduced investing and low tolerance for anything other than major market-moving events.

So although the week promises important earnings reports from key European banks, a couple of key central bank meetings and one of the biggest U.S. economic data releases — jobs — trading on financial markets may be limited.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

FORTUNE — The Ohio Attorney General’s office announced today that a class of three pension funds it represented in fraud complaints against AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) have settled with the federally-owned insurance giant for $725 million.

The statement reads in part, “The settlement resolves allegations of AIG’s wide-ranging fraud from October 1999 to April 2005 involving anti-competitive market division, accounting violations and stock price manipulation, and brings total expected recovery for AIG shareholders to over $1 billion. The settlement is subject to court approval.”

Full Story at money.cnn.com

WASHINGTON (CNNMoney.com) — While bailed-out Wall Street is back on its feet and making profits, Main Street banks have gotten little to no boost from taxpayer bailouts, a watchdog panel said Wednesday.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program’s help has made little difference for small banks, according to the latest report by the Congressional Oversight Panel. The panel also warned that taxpayers could remain on the hook for small bank bailouts for years to come.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Wells Fargo will cut 3,800 jobs and close 638 stores in its financial division, the company said Wednesday.

The cuts are a result of the company closing Wells Fargo Financial, the company’s consumer finance division that made “non-prime” home loans.

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About 2,800 of the job cuts will happen in the next 60 days, and the remaining 1,000 positions will be eliminated over the next 12 months.

Wells Fargo’s (WFC, Fortune 500) 2008 merger with Wachovia eliminated the need for a separate financial division, the company said.

Full Story at msnbc.com

An odd scene has been playing out lately in the offices of mortgage brokers and bankers around the country.

Mortgage rates have sunk to levels not seen in more than a half-century — a seductive 4.58 percent for an average 30-year fixed loan. Yet brokers and lenders report not a flood but a trickle of customers.

So what’s going on?

Call it a tale of the haves and have-nots.