WALL STREET JOURNAL: A venture led by residential land company LandCap Partners is buying $40M of land and construction loans from Wachovia (WB). FINANCIAL TIMES: Barclays (BCS) would consider buying a U.S. wealth management company, Barclays President Bob Diamond said. However, it is “highly unlikely” that the British bank will bid for a U.S. investment bank, Diamond added. WALL STREET JOURNAL: eBay (EBAY) said it would reduce its fees for products on its web site with fixed prices. The online auction company is making the move in order to become more competitive with rival web sites. BLOOMBERG: Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac’s (FRE) ability to repay a combined $223B of their bonds due by the end of Q3 may determine whether they will need to be bailed out by the federal government.

Q3 debt payments may determine Fannie and Freddie’s fate-Bloomberg
Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac’s (FRE) ability to repay $223B of their bonds due by the end of Q3 could determine whether the companies will need to be bailed out by the U.S. government. Fannie has about $120B of debt maturing this quarter, and Freddie has $103B of debt maturing in the same period.

Asian Markets Wrap-Up for Wednesday, August 20
Asian stocks advanced as most markets gained. The Chinese government is said to be considering moves to jump-start growth for its economy..JAPAN: The Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 13.36, or 0.1%, to 12,851.69, while the broader Topix index lost 2.17, or 0.2%, to 1,233.37. Shipping lines lead the losers as Nippon Yusen, dropped 2.7% to Y852. Mitsui O.S.K. Lines slid 2.5% to Y1,262. Sony (SNE) tumbled 2.8% to Y4,130. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. (MC) sank 2.4% to Y2,255. Toyota (TM) was down 3.6% to Y4,830. Inpex was up 2.5% to Y1,134,000. Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. jumped 4.3% to Y1,426…CHINA: The Chinese government may spend up to 400B yuan, or about $58B, to help stimulate the economy and may ease monetary policy this year, according to a research note from J.P. Morgan. The CSI 300 Index advanced 184.47, or 7.9%, to 2,532.94. China Vanke Co. rose 8.4% to 7.46 yuan. Gemdale Corp. jumped 8.2% to 7.40 yuan. Ping An Insurance Co. was up 9.5% to 44.96 yuan…AUSTRALIA: The S&P/ASX 200 Index advanced 63.10, or 1.30%, to 4,929.50. BHP Billiton (BHP) added 4.7% to A$38.73. Rio Tinto Group (RTP) climbed 4.8% to A$116.70. James Hardie (JHX) lost 1.6% to A$4.43…AROUND ASIA: The Hang Seng Index gained 446.89, or 2.18%, to 20,931.26. Cnooc (CEO) added 5.4% to HK$10.64. PetroChina Co.(PTR) increased 3% to HK$9.89.

Lehman came close to raising $5B from South Korean funds, institutions-NY Post
Lehman Brothers (LEH) CEO Dick Fuld almost made a deal to raise almost $5B from South Korean wealth funds and institutions, but the deal fell through earlier this month, inside sources said.

Treasury’s next move: Doing something about high mortgage rates-WSJ
The Wall Street Journal’s “Heard on the Street” says that with everything that has been done to help the housing market, the rate on a 30 year mortgage now is 6.52%, unchanged from a year ago. If cheaper borrowing costs are key to the housing turnaround mortgage rates with have to go lower. Enter Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE): If the government pumps large sums of money into them, or takes them over, that could ease the pressure. Risks abound but investors also want to know that the burden will not fall on them alone.