Breaking finance and business news, tax information, jobs and more for finance directors and senior finance professionals.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke appeared at the first of a series of hearings on policy implications that may arise from the transformation of US and international financial markets.

The two officials told the House Financial Services Committee that new regulatory powers are needed to protect the nation's financial system if a big investment company were to collapse.

The need for enhanced capital and reserve requirements for financial firms is also on the agenda for the committee.

Housing crisis continues  - bad news for UK

This comes amid a new crisis developed yesterday as share prices for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae fell.

The companies are the two biggest companies that own or guarantee home mortgages in the US. They are government –chartered companies set up to help increase home ownership by increasing the amount of money available for mortgage loans, and as such will be of interest to the committee.

This will not bode well for the housing market in Britain which is under considerable pressure with shares of construction and materials companies falling by 17% this month on the FTSE and talk of major job losses. On a positive note shares in the sector opened steady this morning on a FTSE that made gains on a stronger Wall Street performance overnight. 

Related articles

• UK buy-out market dips to four year low
• Rethink urged on academic policy

Related links

• House Financial Services Committee