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WASHINGTON - Federal regulators are working on a stronger label for a widely used diabetes drug marketed by Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Eli Lilly & Co. after deaths were reported with the medication despite earlier government warnings.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures rose on Wednesday as news of a solid quarterly profit and outlook from Hewlett-Packard , the world's largest computer maker, helped investors battle fears about the credit crisis.

LOS ANGELES - California homebuyers sprung to life in July, pouncing on foreclosed homes and deeply discounted properties but largely ignoring pricier homes that have been languishing on the market, a research firm said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON - Wholesale inflation soared in July, leaving prices rising at the fastest pace in nearly three decades. While recent declines in oil and other commodity prices raise hopes inflation may have peaked, some economists worry about the widespread nature of the July price surge and caution it will take more time for that pressure to ease on Wall Street and Main Street.

In the mortgage industry, they are called "liar loans" — mortgages approved without requiring proof of the borrower's income or assets. The worst of them earn the nickname "ninja loans," short for "no income, no job, and (no) assets."

WASHINGTON - Two giant mortgage companies get into hot water over risky investments. The government steps in to throw them a lifeline should they need it.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. wholesale prices shot up in July at the fastest annual rate in 27 years, while home builders cut back on construction as they worked through a glut of unsold homes, government data showed on Tuesday.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - As soaring home prices set the stage for America's great housing meltdown, a critical step in making sure those home sales were a fair deal — the real estate appraisal — was undermined from within.

NEW YORK - Media coverage of the economic downturn in the U.S. has lagged behind both economic activity and public interest, according to a study being released Monday by a Washington, D.C.-based research group.

ASPEN, Colo. (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve must be ready to take action if slowing economic growth fails to curb inflation stemming from higher food and energy prices, two top Fed policy-makers said on Tuesday, indicating that higher interest rates may be needed.

WASHINGTON - Construction of homes and apartments fell in July to the lowest level in more than 17 years, the government reported Tuesday.

ZURICH (AFP) - The United States is likely to slip into recession in the coming months as the cushioning impact of sharp interest rate cuts and tax rebates wears out, UBS bank economists said Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - A pair of troubling US economic reports released Tuesday showed a sharp uptick in wholesale prices and a heavy slump in new home construction are continuing to plague the world's largest economy.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors dumped shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday after a newspaper report said government officials may have no choice but to effectively nationalize the U.S. housing finance titans.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some analysts are girding for a third-quarter loss of $1.8 billion or more from U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc , instead of the modest profit they had previously expected, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

A report has surfaced that Pandora -- the popular music-mix service for computers and mobile devices such as the iPhone -- may have to stop music streaming as royalty fees drain its cash.

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Construction of new homes in the United States plunged 11 percent in July to the lowest level in 17 years amid the worst housing slump in decades, government data showed Tuesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The primary purpose of a 1999 clinical study that Merck & Co Inc said was done to test side effects of Vioxx was actually to support a marketing campaign before the now-withdrawn painkiller's launch, according to U.S. researchers.

Growing evidence suggests American consumers, businesspeople, and political leaders should all be bracing for double-digit inflation, probably as early as 2009.

Questions and answers on how consumers can ensure they are getting an honest appraisal when buying or selling a home, refinancing an existing mortgage or taking out a home equity loan or line of credit: