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Fannie & Freddie

Started by Imperator; Last updated May 6, 08 9:00 AM CDT by P Spain | View history

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Fannie & Freddie

The cutely nick-named Fannie Mae (short for Federal National Mortgage Association) and Freddie Mac (short for Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) make the market for home mortgages in the U.S through their lending and guaranteeing activities . With the real estate industry in trouble, these two bulwarks of home ownership are having their own difficulties.

Stories

Stories 21 - 40 of 63

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September 2008
- Stocks Rally Strong on Fannie, Freddie Takeover
  
  Bloomberg | Sep 8, 08 4:29 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - European and Japanese stocks saw their biggest surge since January and US futures climbed amid news of the Treasury Department’s plan to take charge of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Bloomberg reports. Europe's UBS AG, pounded by subprime losses, and Japan’s Mizuho Financial Group, its biggest bank by assets, jumped 10% after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced the establishment of a conservatorship for the mortgage lenders. More »
- Feds Outline Fannie, Freddie Bailout
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 7, 08 11:28 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Citing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as "critical to turning the corner on housing," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson this morning announced a bailout of the beleaguered mortgage companies that includes his agency purchasing preferred stock, while the Federal Housing Finance Agency will step in as conservator. Additionally, Treasury is to buy mortgage-backed securities in the open market, and provide a lending facility, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »
- Paulson Tacks Toward Middle on Fannie, Freddie Rescue
  
  Los Angeles Times | Sep 7, 08 9:35 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - As concerns mount for troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two camps have emerged: one, led by free-market analysts, is pushing a temporary government takeover of the companies; the other, led by congressional Democrats, would rather see billions of tax dollars rescue the firms. Treasury secretary Henry Paulson is looking to balance the two extremes in an announcement this afternoon, the Los Angeles Times reports. More »
- Juggled Books at Freddie, Fannie Sparked Fed Takeover
  
  New York Times | Sep 7, 08 6:17 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Federal advisers pushed for a government takeover of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae after discovering fuzzy accounting that failed to fully reveal the dire nature of the companies' financial situation, reports the New York Times . The practices, while not illegal, overstated the mortgage giants' capital cushions while attempting to delay the announcement of a capital shortfall until next year. Details of the takeover, which will place both companies in a government-run conservatorship, are expected to be announced today. More »
- Fannie, Freddie Deal Will 'Stem the Mess'
  
  TheStreet | Sep 6, 08 6:42 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Jim Cramer predicts that a lot of people will whine about the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—especially those shorting them—and say it won't help. But they're dead wrong, Cramer writes on TheStreet.com: it's going to turn housing around and bring the rest of the economy with it. “Put simply, there will be no reason to foreclose” once Treasury gets involved. More »
- Feds Plan to Take Over Freddie, Fannie
  
  Wall Street Journal | Sep 5, 08 9:14 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The White House told ailing mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac today that Washington will effectively take them over, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Treasury move will leave both companies functioning but replace their executives, inject capital, and likely leave shareholders with little or nothing. The move aims to keep interest rates on mortgages low and reassure investors that the companies will stay afloat. More »
- Fannie-Freddie Merger: The Math Adds Up
  
  New York Times | Sep 2, 08 10:54 AM CDT
  
  (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 »
August 2008
- Fannie, Freddie Employees Watch Assets Plunge
  
  New York Times | Aug 29, 08 8:51 AM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Top Execs Booted at Fannie Mae
  
  Bloomberg | Aug 28, 08 2:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Battered mortgage-finance provider Fannie Mae has ousted three top executives in a bid to boost investor confidence, Bloomberg reports. Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd is replacing his chief officers for finance, business and risk management as he struggles to prove that the company has enough capital to ride out the remainder of the mortgage crisis that has sunk shares 85% this year. More »
- Pressure Mounts for a Freddie, Fannie Bailout
  
  Wall Street Journal | Aug 20, 08 9:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A federal bailout for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac looks more likely every day, both the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times report, as the mortgage giants find it increasingly difficult to borrow and their stock continues to take a pounding. Freddie was able to auction $3 billion in debt yesterday, but at unusually hefty interest rates, which in turn could be passed on to borrowers. More »
- Fannie, Freddie Take Another Beating on Bailout Fears
  
  Wall Street Journal | Aug 19, 08 6:51 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Share prices of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac took another precipitous plunge yesterday as investors fear the home mortgage giants will not be able to avoid a government bailout, the Wall Street Journal reports. An article in Barron’s stoked smoldering concerns that the companies will not be able to raise more capital by selling shares and that a Treasury bailout will render existing shares worthless. More »
- Financials Skid, Spark Sell-Off
  
  MarketWatch | Aug 18, 08 3:26 PM CDT
  
  (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 »
- Fannie Misses Estimates, Slashes Dividend
  
  Bloomberg | Aug 8, 08 8:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fannie Mae reported its fourth straight losing quarter today, Bloomberg reports, coming in $2.3 billion in the red and slashing its dividend. The $2.51-per-share loss far exceeded the 72-cent average predicted by analysts, much as Freddie Mac surprised investors two days ago. “Neither of these companies have properly provisioned for what we're heading into,” said one analyst. “This thing is going to get worse and last longer and deeper than they originally thought.” More »
- Freddie Has 4th-Straight Loss as 2nd Quarter Charges Rise
  
  Bloomberg | Aug 6, 08 7:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Rising delinquencies and a still-skidding home market combined to make Freddie Mac’s second quarter losses three times worse than analysts predicted, reports Bloomberg . The government-backed mortgage enterprise lost $821 million, or $1.63, in the quarter, prompting it to also announce a third quarter slash in dividends from 25 cents to 5 cents a share. More »
- Freddie CEO Dismissed Bad Omens for Years
  
  New York Times | Aug 5, 08 4:34 AM CDT