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President Obama's administration has joined Democratic and Republican lawmakers in attacking potential raises for the top executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Bolstered by higher originations, Freddie Mac reported Tuesday that net income was $524 million for the first quarter, up from $227 million a quarter earlier.

Freddie Mac will return $746 million to the Treasury Department next month after reporting first-quarter net income of $524 million, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.

The silver lining of the market crash was a unique opportunity for non-legislative reform that would not have otherwise come to bear.

Wes Edens, a co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, has shot his share of air balls at his private-equity firm Fortress Investment Group. With mortgage assets, Edens has found his mark.

Banks want all loans held in portfolio to be classified as ultrasafe regardless of the underwriting characteristics or of a bank's asset size. But consumer activists and independent mortgage lenders are raising red flags ahead of possible Senate Banking action.

Ocwen Financial's shares jumped 19% to more than $10 a share as of late morning Friday, the day after it reported a first-quarter profit and highlighted an expansion into mortgage lending.

Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Wells Fargo are first are marketing nearly $4 billion in commercial mortgage-backed securities via three conduits slated to price the first week of May.

New York law gives investors who say they were duped into buying flawed mortgage bonds six years to sue. But does the clock start ticking on the day the bonds were packaged or after problems with the loans came to light?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could require an additional bailout of as much as $157.3 billion in a deep recession, according to the results of stress tests released by the regulator for the U.S.-owned companies.