AP – The Chief financial officer of Freddie Mac, one of the mortgage giants at the heart of the nation’s financial meltdown, was found dead in his basement early Wednesday morning in what police said was an apparent suicide.

David Kellermann, 41, apparently hanged himself in his suburban Washington home, said a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation. He asked not to be identified because the investigation was ongoing.

Kellermann was promoted last September when the government seized the mortgage company and ousted its top two executives. Neighbors said Kellermann had lost a noticeable amount of weight under the strain of the new job. Some neighbors said they suggested to Kellermann should quit to avoid the stress, but Kellermann responded that he wanted to help the company through its problems. The neighbors did not want to be quoted by name because they didn’t want to upset the family.

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Mail Tribune – The Treasury Department on Thursday defended the viability of its $1 trillion plan to get soured mortgage investments off of banks’ books after JPMorgan Chase’s chief executive said the company won’t participate in the program.

Some analysts said comments by JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon could spell trouble for Treasury’s program, which is aimed at what many view as the heart of the current financial crisis — toxic assets that are weighing on banks’ balance sheets and preventing them from resuming more normal lending to consumers and businesses.

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