Fannie, Freddie Take Another Beating on Bailout Fears

(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»

Fannie-Freddie bailout shows Treasury sec enjoys a free hand

(NEWSER) - Last week, a small group met in the Oval Office to discuss the impending takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. But while President Bush convened the meeting, there was no mistaking who was running the show: Hank Paulson, who had first floated public ownership and who oversaw every aspect of the bailout. The Fannie-Freddie conservatorship, which flies in the face of normal Bush policy, is only the latest demonstration of the treasury secretary's considerable clout. More»

As both companies plummet, combining them might make sense

(NEWSER) - With Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac struggling to stay afloat, arguments for a merger are gathering steam. “Sometimes size can be a strength,” writes Andrew Ross Sorkin in the New York Times. The companies spent $1.825 billion in total overhead in the first half of 2008 doing exactly the same thing; a merged entity could save some $1.2 billion a year. More»

(NEWSER) - As the stock prices of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac plunged 80% this year, employees of the companies helplessly watched their fortunes sink with the ship, the New York Times reports. For instance, Fannie Mae’s workers owned $116 million in company stock at the end of 2006; today it’s worth $17.5 million. The sale of stock and options paid to employees was often restricted, making diversification difficult. More»

Financials plummet on the prospect of a GSE bailout

(NEWSER) - The markets took a tumble today as familiar fears about a government bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac returned to the fore, MarketWatch reports. Led by its financial components, the Dow fell 180.02 to close at 11,479.88. The Nasdaq shed 35.54, settling at 2,416.98, while the S&P 500 dropped 19.54 to close at 1,278.66. More»