Help on the Way

Government-controlled mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and major banks JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Bank of America Corp. said Friday they are halting foreclosures through March 6. This action was taken ahead of the new administration's plan to deal with the nation's housing crisis. President Barack Obama on Wednesday will outline his much-anticipated plan to spend at least $50 billion to prevent foreclosures in a speech in Arizona, one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis.