Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said today that financial markets have stabilized since March, when the collapse of investment giant Bear Stearns roiled Wall Street, and that he expects economic growth to rebound by the end of the year.

When Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson released the government's blueprint for overhauling the nation's financial regulatory structure, he promised to direct more attention toward the front-line people who arrange mortgage loans.

The Treasury chief's bid to reshape financial oversight has an uphill climb ahead of it -- and reflects his Wall Street pedigree. When Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. unveiled his proposal to overhaul federal financial regulation Monday, President Bush was airborne, speeding out of Washington on Air Force One.

As Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson proposed overhauling the regulatory framework for the financial system, Democrats in Congress on Monday said it was far more urgent to try and quickly stabilize the housing market.

Investment banks that have long-term access to Federal Reserve 'liquidity' should open their books, the Treasury chief says. Signaling a willingness by the Bush administration to expand its oversight of Wall Street, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. said Wednesday that investment banks should submit to greater supervision if they want regular access to Federal Reserve loans.

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and other U.S. regulators will propose tougher scrutiny of banks' capital in a report on lessons from the mortgage crisis, a government official said Wednesday.

When Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. left the top job at Goldman Sachs to come to Washington, he took only one colleague, his former lieutenant, Robert Steel.

In an interview, the Treasury chief defines sub-prime plan's goal as avoiding foreclosures and chaos in the market. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. on Wednesday downplayed the mortgage-rate-freeze element of the Bush administration's program to help the sinking housing market, saying it wasn't the principal focus of the plan -- despite the raised hopes of some struggling homeowners.

The Treasury secretary is working with regulators andbank executives tto develop a loan modification plan. The Bush administration and the mortgage industry, trying to combat a massive wave of foreclosures, are hammering out a proposal to temporarily freeze interest rates on certain troubled subprime mortgages. If adopted, it would be the biggest action taken to cope with the unfolding crisis.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is pressing the U.S. mortgage industry to help large groups of borrowers automatically, worried lenders will be unable to staunch a worsening mortgage crisis if they try to fix loans one-by-one.