Households heating with electricity can expect bills to be about 50 percent more than a year ago - assuming no adjustment for weather variances - as a result of Baltimore Gas & Electric's rate increase in June.

The federal government projected last week that average U.S. homes heating with natural gas would pay 10 percent more this winter, while those burning fuel oil could expect to pay 22 percent more. But since that report was released, concerns about tightening supplies coupled with tensions along the Iraq-Turkey border have pushed crude oil above $87 per barrel, and heating oil for November delivery has reached a record $2.34 per gallon.

PAULSON: Remember the treasury secretary's comments yesterday? Here's a story:

After months of downplaying the nation's mortgage mess, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. conceded yesterday that it represents "the most significant current risk to our economy" and called for Congress and private mortgage companies to move more quickly to help.

FED: Remember Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's comments this week? Here's a story about the stock market reaction:

Wall Street sank for a second-straight session yesterday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the slumping housing market remains a "significant drag" on the economy.

MORTGAGES: More decreases in new loans to come, the AP says in a story:

The nation's more than $2 trillion home mortgage business won't halt its current slide anytime soon, with mortgage originations expected to fall 18 percent next year and decline another 6 percent in 2009, the Mortgage Bankers Association predicts.