Yes, the executives at Countrywide Financial Corp. planned a top-dollar shindig at a ski resort earlier this year, just after the bank's multibillion dollar losses on subprime mortgages required a shotgun marriage to Bank of America. (A Wall Street Journal story forced them to cancel the party.) And sure, Bear Stearns chief executive James E. Cayne was off playing golf last summer as two of his investment bank's hedge funds collapsed under gargantuan subprime losses. (He's been dumped.)

LOS ANGELES -- A federal judge has ruled that a shareholder lawsuit against Countrywide Financial Corp. executives and directors should go to trial, rejecting several arguments by the troubled mortgage lender to dismiss the case.

WASHINGTON -- Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., which is under investigation for inflating certain borrowers' fees, acknowledged Tuesday that it has made errors and pledged to take steps to improve its operations.

The bank should walk away from the deal, an analyst says. BofA says the transaction will proceed. Countrywide Financial Corp. shares took a hit Monday after an analyst questioned the value and wisdom of Bank of America Corp.'s takeover of the Calabasas mortgage lender, but Bank of America insisted the deal would go through.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Monday on worry that Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) may walk away from buying troubled lender Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N), while record oil prices above $120 a barrel increased worry about consumer spending.

LOS ANGELES -- Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp. tumbled Monday after one Wall Street analyst said Bank of America Corp. should abandon its proposed takeover of the struggling mortgage lender and another suggested the deal would likely be renegotiated for a lower price.

BANGALORE (Reuters) - At least two analysts said Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) will likely lower its purchase price for Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N), with Friedman, Billings Ramsey analyst saying the bank may bring down its deal price to the $0 to $2 level or completely walk away from the deal.

May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Bank of America Corp. , the second- biggest U.S. bank, said it may not guarantee $38.1 billion of Countrywide Financial Corp. 's debt after taking over the mortgage lender, increasing the likelihood of a default.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Countrywide Financial Corp, which is being investigated for its treatment of some foreclosed homeowners in bankruptcy court, will testify on Tuesday at a U.S. Senate panel hearing, a senior Democratic senator said on Wednesday.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N) and GMAC LLC, which run the largest independent U.S. mortgage lenders, posted big first-quarter losses on Tuesday, hurt by credit problems as the nation's housing slump deepens.