Stocks tumble as Dell warns on tech spending. U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday, led lower by tech shares after computer maker Dell warned that companies worldwide are cutting back on technology spending.

Freddie, Fannie bail-out concerns premature: Merrill. Merrill Lynch said it was premature to consider a recapitalization sponsored by the U.S Treasury for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, the two biggest U.S. mortgage finance giants, as capital depletion would not likely occur for several quarters.

7 secrets of health insurers. To really understand your coverage, you need to know about a lot more than just your deductibles and copayments.

SpeedDate.com Secures $6 Million. Aug 28 -- SpeedDate.com, the online speed dating service, has secured $6m in Series B funding from Menlo Ventures.

First-Half Venture Funding of Chinese Companies Up 85%. While China's athletes continue to collect gold medals in the Olympic Games, the host country's venture capitalists are busy with their own quests for gold, reports Dow Jones Venture Wire.

At Some Troubled Retailers, A Tug-of-War Over Gift Cards. Gift cards totaling about $66 billion will be tucked into birthday, wedding and holiday cards this year. About one-third of that total will be spent within 90 days and another third within six months, said Brian Riley, a bank-card research director for TowerGroup. Some $20 billion worth will linger..

Time to Buy Homebuilder Stocks? Each month brings fresh data that the housing market is in the dumps. The latest: Home prices in June were down 15.9% from the year-earlier period, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Schiller 20-city index of home prices. That was the biggest decline since the index was introduced in 2000.

Microsoft Invests in Heavily-Backed HD Online Video Service Move Networks. So Microsoft is also jumping into the online video investment space, and has done an undisclosed amount of strategic investment in already-heavily backed online HD video tech provider Move Networks.

Fannie Mae announces management shakeup. Mortgage-finance company Fannie Mae on Wednesday announced a management shake-up in an effort to come to grips with mounting credit losses and a shrinking capital base.

Fannie Mae shakes up management team. Mortgage finance giant Fannie Mae shook up its executive ranks Wednesday, after shares in it and sibling company Freddie Mac rose for a third straight day as investors appeared less certain a government bailout of the two troubled companies is imminent.

Bradford & Bingley bank says suffers first-half loss. British mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley said on Friday that it had endured a net loss of 17.2 million pounds in the first half of 2008.

You're dead: Where's your 401? If you should die before spending all your hard-earned retirement savings, any number of things could happen to the remaining money. Don't let it fall into the wrong pockets.

MGM Now Claims It's Not On The Block. MGM issued the following statement today after I and BusinessWeek received tips that Goldman Sachs had been retained to shop MGM.

Let's Chat Today. Join me today at noon for a live online discussion about mortgages. The current housing market has sidelined many would-be buyers, who are worried they'll buy before the market hits bottom. Meanwhile, mortgages rates are rising and qualifying for a mortgage is more difficult.

Md. to Protect 275 More Acres Of Wetlands, Forest in Charles. Charles County, home to thousands of acres of state-protected land, will have 275 more acres in its southwestern part preserved under Maryland's Program Open Space.

Strapped US consumers curb spending as inflation bites. US consumers snapped shut wallets as a boost from tax rebates wore off and inflation soared in July, government data showed Friday in what could be a bad omen for an economy dependent on consumer spending.

Fannie's capital better than market perceptions: Lehman. Fannie Mae's capital and reserves positions are better than market expectations, and the biggest U.S. mortgage finance company may not need any more externally raised capital, according to an analyst at Lehman Brothers.

Home prices plummet to 2005 levels. Economists say a real-estate recovery is at least months away, but that isn't stopping bargain hunters from snapping up property in some of the nation's most distressed markets.

Home prices by metro area. Home prices across the country fell 4.8% in the second quarter, compared with the second quarter of 2007 -- a record drop, according to a government report. See how your community fared.

Three Fannie Mae execs out, shares rally earlier. Fannie Mae, the biggest U.S. mortgage finance company, on Wednesday announced a shake-up of top executives, including the exit of its chief financial officer, in an effort to better implement a plan to preserve capital and cut losses.