A look at stories across HousingWire’s weekend desk, with more coverage to come on bigger issues: Republican Presidential candidate Herman Cain suspended his campaign on Saturday for the GOP nomination amid accusations that he sexually harassed several women and had an extramarital affair. Cain continued to deny those allegations on Saturday. “I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions, the continued hurt caused on me and my family,” Cain said. He said he would endorse another candidate. In a November Republican debate, Cain said he would turn Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into private entities. “The government does not need to be in that business,” he said. “I would find a way to unwind Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac such that the marketplace can determine the future of the housing market.” Members of Occupy D.C. were arrested on Sunday as police and protesters clashed over a wood building that the group began constructing in one of the town squares. Police gave the protesters a one-hour deadline to start dismantling the two-story plywood structure Sunday morning and then began moving in when that deadline passed. At least a dozen demonstrators were arrested. The Senate Banking Committee is set to hold one full committee hearing and one subcommittee hearing this week. On Tuesday at 10 a.m. Eastern, the full committee will meet for an oversight hearing on the implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act. It will hear from representatives of the Treasury, Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission and others. On Wednesday at 2 p.m. Eastern, the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection will meet for a hearing entitled “Enhanced Supervision: A New Regime for Regulating Large, Complex Financial Institutions.” The hearing will examine the enhanced supervision provisions included in Dodd-Frank and how they are addressing risks to the financial system. The bankruptcy estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings is looking to match the $1.3 billion bid made by Equity Residential (EQR) for a stake in Archstone, the Financial Times reported Sunday. Equity Residential, an apartment company controlled by property tycoon Sam Zell, said Friday that it entered into a contract with Bank of America (BAC) and Barclays plc (BCS), which own 53% of Archstone, to pay $1.3 billion in cash for half the banks’ stake. The deal would value Archstone at about $16 billion, including debt. Archstone is one of Equity Residential’s largest competitors. Lehman estate thinks Archstone’s equity value is $1 billion above what the current bid values it to be. The estate has the right of first refusal to buy the stake. The report cited “people familiar with the matter” who said if the Lehman estate exercises its right, the banks will offer Equity Residential on option on a remaining 26.5% stake. The estate has 10 days to match the bid, The Financial Time reported. Last year, Lehman Brothers Holdings considered selling Archstone, which it acquired in a $22 billion leveraged buyout. A Mobile, Ala., real estate investor pleaded guilty Friday for his role in a conspiracy to rig bids and commit mail fraud at public real estate foreclosure auctions, the Department of Justice announced. Charges were filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama in Mobile against Bobby Threlkeld Jr.  The department said Threlkeld rigged bids by agreeing to refrain from bidding against other investors at public real estate foreclosure auctions in Mobile County and its surrounding areas. The primary purpose of the conspiracy was to suppress competition and to make and receive payoffs to obtain selected real estate offered at public foreclosure auctions at noncompetitive prices. According to court documents, between May 2001 and December 2006, Threlkeld conspired with others not to bid against one another at public real estate foreclosure auctions in southern Alabama.  After the conspirators’ designated bidder bought a property at the public auctions, the conspirators held a secret, second auction at which each participant bid the amount above the public auction price he was willing to pay.  The highest bidder at the secret auction won the property. Threlkeld used the U.S. mail system in the conspiracy to defraud financial institutions by paying potential competitors not to bid competitively in the public auctions for foreclosed properties. He was charged with violating the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals. Conspiracy to commit mail fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine. More Wall Street economists expect the Federal Reserve to undertake another major economic stimulus package in early 2012 because of languid U.S. growth and fallout from Europe’s debt crisis, according to a Reuters poll on Friday. Thirteen of 20 economists at primary dealers, the large financial institutions that do business directly with the U.S. central bank, said they expect the Fed to purchase more mortgage-backed securities. Two more dealers said more MBS buying was possible. Six of the 13 dealers who expected further MBS purchases said the Fed would also buy Treasury debt to boost the economy. The median forecasts by 11 dealers regarding the purchase amount of the MBS equaled $550 billion. That amount is close the size of the Fed’s second round of quantitative easing, known as QE2, under which it bought $600 billion of Treasuries. Under QE1 and QE2 the Fed’s purchases of MBS and Treasury debt totaled $2.3 trillion. Seventeen of 20 dealers in the Reuters poll said the Fed would ease monetary policy by changing the way it communicates with financial markets. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in November the central bank may consider purchasing more mortgage-backed securities to help further stabilize the economy. New research from credit-risk evaluator FICO found that after the housing bust in 2008 and 2009, about 50 million U.S. consumers saw their FICO credit scores plunge more than 20 points because of severe delinquencies. Nearly 21 million of these lost more than 50 points. Many lost 100 points or more. During the same period, lenders and investors tightened up their standards for acceptable scores. Loans originated for purchase or guarantee by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now carry average FICO credit scores of 760 and above, record highs for both GSEs. By contrast, during the housing boom years from 2004 to 2006 a score of 620 to 640 was adequate to earn a good mortgage rate. Write to Justin T. Hilley. Follow him on Twitter @JustinHilley.