UPDATE 3-Bush tours site of wrecked Minnesota bridge

(Reuters) - MINNEAPOLIS, Aug 4 - Divers searched for bodies
in debris in the murky Mississippi on Saturday as President
George W. Bush toured the site of this week's deadly rush-hour
bridge collapse and promised quick federal help in rebuilding.




Bush got a bird's eye view of the ruined bridge in a
10-minute helicopter tour, then donned an orange hard hat and
wind-breaker to walk a section of the 40-year-old bridge on
foot as rain fell.


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Freddie CEO wary of more subprime loans: NYT

(Reuters) - With credit pools drying up "there are some loans that are in difficulty," the Times quoted Syron as saying in a telephone interview.




"There are other loans that probably should never have been made and providing more liquidity will make that situation worse in the long term," Syron told the Times.


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Freddie CEO wary of more subprime loans - NYT

(Reuters) - With credit pools drying up "there are some loans that are
in difficulty," the Times quoted Syron as saying in a telephone
interview.




"There are other loans that probably should never have been
made and providing more liquidity will make that situation
worse in the long term," Syron told the Times.


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Barclays' ABN offer period runs until Oct 4 - filing

(Reuters) - The RBS-led consortium's offer is worth 71 billion euros
and 93 percent in cash, while Barclays
65-billion-euros offer is about 38 percent in cash.




ABN shareholders can tender shares under the Barclays offer
from Aug. 7 until Oct. 4, Barclays said in a filing to U.S.
regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission late on Friday.


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Bear Stearns preparing to oust president-WSJ

(Reuters) - Bear Stearns' board is due to meet on Monday to consider
the departure of Spector, who heads up its stock and bond
trading operations, the paper said, citing a person familiar
with the situation.




Spector, 49, had widely been seen as a candidate to become
the firm's next chief executive, the Journal said.


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Regulator seeks comments on "unfair" lending

(Reuters) - The proposal comes at a time when U.S. banking authorities, including the Federal Reserve, have been criticized for responding too late to problems in home loans made to borrowers with poor credit histories, so-called subprime loans.




The OTS, which regulates more than 800 savings and loan institutions with $1.5 trillion is assets, typically focuses on mortgage lending.


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US STOCKS-Indexes flat after jobs data; ISM to come

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, Aug 3 - U S. stocks were little changed
on Friday after a report showing weaker-than-expected job
growth last month rattled investors already nervous about
losses in the mortgage industry.




Investors were bracing for data on the vast U.S. services
sector at 10 a.m. .


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