financial crisis

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Fannie-Freddie Merger: The Math Adds Up
Fannie-Freddie Merger:
The Math Adds Up
OPINION
Sep 2, 2008 10:54 AM CDT

Fannie-Freddie Merger: The Math Adds Up

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...

Fannie, Freddie Employees Watch Assets Plunge

(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;...

Housing, AIG Spur Losses
 Housing, AIG Spur Losses
MARKETS
Aug 25, 2008 3:27 PM CDT

Housing, AIG Spur Losses

AIG is the troubled financial firm du jour

(Newser) - Stocks fell today as bad news from the housing and financial sectors diminished hopes that the economic slump will lift soon, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow fell 241.81 points to 11,386.25, led by a 5.5% loss at beleaguered insurer AIG. The Nasdaq fell 49....

Modest Gains From Mixed Day
 Modest Gains From Mixed Day 
MARKETS
Aug 20, 2008 3:29 PM CDT

Modest Gains From Mixed Day

Fannie, Freddie continue to bleed out; H-P brightens tech sector

(Newser) - The markets ended up after alternating from gains to losses in today’s session, MarketWatch reports. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continue to make traders uneasy about financial firms, but strong results from Hewlett-Packard provided a welcome distraction. The Dow closed up 68.88 at 11,417.42. The Nasdaq...

Pressure Mounts for a Freddie, Fannie Bailout

Investors want Treasury to take the lead on mortgage giants sooner rather than later

(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...

Losses Continue for 2nd Day
 Losses Continue for 2nd Day 
MARKETS
Aug 19, 2008 3:31 PM CDT

Losses Continue for 2nd Day

Stagflation stalks the Street; retailers post poor results

(Newser) - Stocks fell today for a second straight session as doubts about financials persisted and economic news painted gloomy outlooks on inflation and housing, MarketWatch reports. Disappointing quarterly reports from the retail sector made a bad situation worse. The Dow fell 130.84 to 11,348.55, the Nasdaq 32.62...

Fannie, Freddie Take Another Beating on Bailout Fears

Falling market caps raise investor fears of government action

(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...

Asia Stocks Hit 2-Year Low, Europe Tumbles

Banks lead losses as US housing market woes trouble world

(Newser) - Asian stocks hit a two-year low today and European markets opened lower amid fears that the US will be forced to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In Tokyo the Nikkei tumbled 2.3%, leading declines across the region. Stocks of big European banks such as Barclays and Socié...

Financials Skid, Spark Sell-Off
 Financials Skid, Spark Sell-Off 
MARKETS
Aug 18, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Financials Skid, Spark Sell-Off

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....

Greenspan: Housing Will Hit Bottom in 2009

Skilled immigrants would help end slump, he says

(Newser) - Alan Greenspan said housing prices could continue to edge lower through 2009, but should “stabilize or touch bottom” in the first six months of the year, reports the Wall Street Journal. And, the former Fed chief says, while a government bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie May was the...

Fannie Misses Estimates, Slashes Dividend
Fannie Misses Estimates, Slashes Dividend
Earnings
Aug 8, 2008 8:37 AM CDT

Fannie Misses Estimates, Slashes Dividend

Stock drops 12% in early trading

(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...

Bad News Spurs Big Sell-Off
 Bad News Spurs Big Sell-Off
MARKETS
Aug 7, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Bad News Spurs Big Sell-Off

Poor results at AIG, nervous retailers, rising oil all contribute to decline

(Newser) - The markets suffered big losses today as investors were confronted by bad news from retail and financial giants, as well as a 6-year-high in weekly unemployment, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow fell 224.64to 11,431.43. The Nasdaq lost 22.64 to finish at 2,355.73,...

Wall Street May Scoop Up Troubled Pension Plans

Businesses stand to benefit, but opponents worry about big guns' motives

(Newser) - Though still smarting from the subprime debacle, some of the Wall Street’s biggest players are lobbying the government to be allowed to buy up and manage some of the $2.3 trillion in US corporate pension funds, BusinessWeek reports. Many businesses, eager to get the plans off their books,...

Freddie Has 4th-Straight Loss as 2nd Quarter Charges Rise

Increase in foreclosures and associated fees, $1B writedown lead to $821M loss

(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...

Greenspan to Government: Hands Off
Greenspan to Government: Hands Off
OPINION
Aug 5, 2008 1:15 PM CDT

Greenspan to Government: Hands Off

Market capitalism can ride out the crisis, writes former Fed boss

(Newser) - The credit crisis is far from over, and more banks and financial institutions might require government bailouts along the way, Alan Greenspan acknowledges. The crunch will relax only when home prices, "the ultimate collateral support for much of the financial world’s mortgage-backed securities," begin to stabilize, the...

Freddie CEO Dismissed Bad Omens for Years

Execs charge Syron was warned of disaster

(Newser) - The CEO of Freddie Mac disregarded several warnings from inside the company that the mortgage giant faced imminent disaster. More than two dozen current and former high-ranking employees told the New York Times that Richard Syron dismissed repeated recommendations from as early as 2004 to limit its exposure to bad...

Financial Faith Is Crisis' Top Casualty
 Financial Faith Is 
 Crisis' Top Casualty 
ANALYSIS
Aug 4, 2008 2:35 PM CDT

Financial Faith Is Crisis' Top Casualty

One year in, credit crunch has upset all expectations about modern markets

(Newser) - Last summer, central banks injected hundreds of billions of dollars into the financial system, desperate to restore liquidity to battered markets. But by then the credit crunch was on—and after 12 months, it shows no signs of abating. The Financial Times looks at how risky US mortgages set off...

A Believer in Hands-Off Now a Defender of Hands-On

Treasury chief Henry Paulson has turned to intervention to calm markets

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is in the midst of a reluctant about-face of his economic principles. The Los Angeles Times looks at how Paulson—a former chief executive at Goldman Sachs with a long history of faith in laissez-faire capitalism—has had to become the point man for the Bush...

Say Goodbye to the Reagan Revolution
Say Goodbye
to the Reagan Revolution
Jul 25, 2008 11:18 AM CDT

Say Goodbye to the Reagan Revolution

Leaders abandon deregulation for a hands on approach

(Newser) - The Reagan Revolution, which ushered in a quarter century of deregulation, looks as if it's taken a stake in the heart, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Fed is offering tens of billions in emergency loans to failing banks, the SEC wants more power to regulate financial institutions, and the...

In Switch, Bush Will Sign Bill Overhauling Fannie, Freddie

Measure that would allow feds to insure $300B in mortgages expected soon

(Newser) - President Bush will support a housing package being considered in the Senate, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bush threatened to veto the bill, which includes as much as $300 billion of insurance for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but decided, given market turmoil, that now “is not the time...

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