Obama launches housing plan

The Obama administration is kicking off a new program designed to help up to 9 million borrowers stay in their homes through refinanced mortgages or loans that are modified to lower monthly payments. The Treasury Department on Wednesday released detailed guidelines designed to let the lending industry know how to enroll borrowers in the program announced last month. To help borrowers determine if they are eligible, the government has put answers to common questions and assessment tools on the Web site www.FinancialStability.gov. "It is imperative that we continue to move with speed to help make housing more affordable and help arrest the damaging spiral in our housing markets," Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said in a statement.