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AP) — The government is considering whether to sue banks and other mortgage servicers to recover its losses from alleged insurance kickbacks that may have cost government-controlled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hundreds of millions of dollars, according to an internal report.The Federal Housing Finance Agency, which is responsible for guarding Fannie and Freddie's finances, told its inspector general's office that it will consider filing the lawsuits and will make a formal decision over the next year.Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have been under the FHFA's conservatorship since 2008, lost an estimated $168 million from the fees in 2012 alone, according to the report by the FHFA's inspector general. The FHFA didn't accept the inspector general's estimate of damages, but the agency's official response to the report said it "does not object" to the recommendation that it consider suing.Banks and other mortgage servicers that might be subject to such lawsuits did not immediately respond to phone calls and email messages seeking comment on the threat of litigation.

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration quietly has cleared the way for U.S. residents to buy weapons for the rebels who are fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad, granting a Washington-based advocacy group a rare license to collect money for arms and other equipment. The license, which the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued last month without fanfare, gives the nonprofit Syrian Support Group the authority to take in money and pass it directly to armed insurgents. Previously, U.S. entities’ assistance to Syria was limited to humanitarian and educational programs.

Between 2008 and 2015, central banks pretended that they had fixed the economy. In 2016, they’re starting to admit that they haven’t fixed much of anything.