Countrywide 'Bailout' Is Dem Chicanery

That would be nearly twice what they've received so far

(AP) - The government spelled out today just how much the most expensive rescue of the financial crisis will end up costing taxpayers—as much as $259 billion for mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. By contrast, the combined bailouts of financial companies and the auto industry have cost taxpayers roughly $50 billion, and the bailouts of Wall Street banks alone, which sparked public fury, have so far brought taxpayers a $16 billion return. 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»

(NEWSER) - Freddie Mac, the swamped mortgage giant seized by the government two months ago, asked for $13.8 billion from the Treasury today after a record quarterly loss plunged its net worth into the negative, Bloomberg reports. Sister company Fannie Mae, also under government control, said this week it might need funds beyond the $100 billion previously earmarked for each of the firms before the end of the year. More»

(NEWSER) - As Wall Street banks collapse like a house of cards, American capitalism isn’t just failing in practice; the very idea of unregulated, free-functioning markets has received a serious blow, writes Anthony Faiola in the Washington Post. Once the symbols of American economic might, there's a real possibility that many US banks may find themselves partially government-owned as part of the bailout, altering America’s influence in pushing laissez-faire policies in controlled economies worldwide. More»

McCain, Obama stress urgent need for financial intervention

(NEWSER) - The presidential candidates took a break from stumping today to visit Washington, DC, and support the Senate's financial bailout plan, the New York Times reports. Barack Obama repeated his pro-bailout argument on the Senate floor, saying that "the worldwide economy could be plunged into a very, very deep hole." He admitted earlier today that the plan was "not perfect," but necessary to "prevent a crisis." More»