Home prices in the United States fell 0.6 percent from June to July, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OPHEO) said in a report released today. For the 12 months ending in July, U.S. prices fell 5.

As we reported yesterday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is proposing a $700 billion government bailout for the nation’s financial sector. Earlier today, Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) all testified before the Senate Banking Committee on the subject.

Vantium Capital Inc., a mortgage investment company, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Dallas-based Acqura Loan Services, and two affiliated companies: Strategic Recovery Group, and Go Financial Solutions.

There were only two. And then there were none. Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch last week left only two viable independent U.S. investment banks – Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, with the support of President Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, is pressing Congress for urgent action to stabilize the country’s faltering financial system with prompt passage of his $700 billion bailout plan.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s VP and chief economist, was the keynote speaker at the 2008 Five Star Conference’s State of the Industry Luncheon. Nothaft gave attendees his economic outlook for the remainder of the year and into 2009, focusing on the housing and mortgage markets.

This year’s Five Star Default Servicing Conference and Expo is being hailed as the largest single gathering of default servicing professionals ever assembled in one location. The landmark event began its Thursday morning agenda with the second annual Lifetime Achievement and Humanitarian Awards Breakfast.

Earlier today, Freddie Mac reminded its servicers of the disaster relief options available to borrowers with Freddie Mac-owned mortgages who were affected by Hurricane Ike. Freddie Mac and the nation’s mortgage servicers will work together to bring some measure of financial relief to homeowners affected by Hurricane Ike, said Ingrid Beckles, VP of servicing and asset management at Freddie Mac.

Yesterday, Goldman Sachs reported its weakest quarter since the company went public in 1999, with net profit dropping 70 percent during its third quarter period. Even though its revenue fell below estimates, its third-quarter numbers were larger than analysts had expected, according to a report on Forbes.

USA-Foreclosure.com reported this week that its Web site has experienced more than 50 percent growth in unique visitors since September of 2007. According to the company, USA-Foreclosure.com is the nation’s only free online source for foreclosure listings.