Paulson's Imprimateur on Freddie/Fannie Rescue

Ky.'s Bunning appears to have problem with Fannie/Freddie move

(NEWSER) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson saved Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but now he may have to worry about saving his own job: One Republican senator called his policies socialist and recommended that he and Fed chief Ben Bernanke resign, Bloomberg reports. “They have taken the free market out of the free market,” said Jim Bunning of Kentucky. More»

Bernanke gives gloomy outlook for rest of 2008, but raises growth forecast

(NEWSER) - The US government won't be lending capital to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the near future, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told a Senate committee today. "There are no immediate plans to access either the proposed liquidity or the proposed capital backstop,'' Paulson said, and any lending to the mortgage giants would be done "under terms and conditions that protect the US taxpayer," Bloomberg reports. More»

Panic eases after turbulent trading, but big test is yet to come

(NEWSER) - Fears of a collapse of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac finally eased yesterday after a stomach-churning rollercoaster ride that saw a 50% nosedive for the mortgage giants in early trading, writes the Wall Street Journal. A week of panic, prompted in part by reports that the government was preparing rescue scenarios, seem to have abated, as Fannie and Freddie were able to continue their regular borrowing. But a bigger test looms Monday when Freddie is due to sell $3 billion of short-term debt. More»

(NEWSER) - Executives at government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are scheduled to receive six-figure retention bonuses, but Barney Frank wants the payments canceled, MarketWatch reports. “In this troubled economy, and in this job market, it is difficult to imagine that the companies would not be able to find competent and talented replacements for anyone who chooses to leave,” the House Financial Services chair said in a letter to a federal regulator. More»

Paulson, Bair show support creating federally sponsored institution

(NEWSER) - Support is growing for the latest proposed use of bailout funds: a federally sponsored “bad bank” to purchase toxic assets from troubled financial institutions, Bloomberg reports. “A lot of work has been done on an aggregator bank,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said today; FDIC chief Sheila Bair recently said the idea has “merit.” More»