Reuters – The Obama administration will target critical weaknesses in the troubled U.S. financial system, such as thin bank capital cushions and eroded lending standards, when it proposes an overhaul of financial regulation this week, two senior officials said on Monday.

Reuters – U.S. homebuilder sentiment slipped in June, a private survey showed on Monday, as higher mortgage rates and an ongoing credit crunch damped expectations for the sector.

Reuters – U.S. stocks tumbled, marking

AP – The Supreme Court will decide whether student loans can be dismissed through bankruptcy with just a notice to the collector instead of a hearing proving that paying the money back would cause an “undue hardship.”

Bloomberg – June 13 (Bloomberg) — The Senate??s No. 2 Democrat, DickDurbin, sold more than $115,000 worth of stocks and mutual-fundshares as U.S. stock markets plummeted last September, usingmuch of the money to invest in Warren Buffett??s BerkshireHathaway Inc.

Reuters – U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday the financial system was beginning to thaw but any renewed pick-up in the economy would likely be slower than usual.

Reuters – Oil fell to around $71 a barrel on Monday, extending its retreat from a near eight-month high as the dollar firmed and analysts said the market had rallied too quickly.

Reuters – The slumping New York state factory sector shrank at a more severe rate in June than during the previous month, the New York Federal Reserve said on Monday, confounding expectations of a slight improvement.

Reuters – The International Monetary Fund on Monday said a heavy dose of stimulus would ease the U.S. recession this year and lift growth marginally in 2010.