Stakes are high as government plans exit from mortgage markets

The wind-down of federal support for mortgage rates, set to end in two months, is a momentous test of whether the Obama administration and the Federal Reserve have succeeded in jump-starting the housing market and ensuring it can hold its own.

By David Cho, Neil Irwin and Dina ElBoghdady

• A trillion-dollar effort on mortgages

Wal-Mart outsourcing some positions

The retail giant says it will cut about 11,200 jobs at its Sam's Club warehouse division as it outsources in-store product sampling to the marketing company Shopper Events.

By Associated Press