Subprime lawsuits outpace S&L cases: study (Reuters)
Reuters - The U.S. subprime-mortgage crisis has now spurred more federal lawsuits than the savings and loan debacle of the late 1980s and early 1990s ever did, data released on Wednesday shows. More »
European stocks fall as Lehman posts massive write-downs (AFP)
AFP - Europe's main stock markets fell Wednesday, while Wall Street rose, as ailing US investment bank Lehman Brothers unveiled huge write-downs linked to the subprime mortgage crisis. More »
ECB chief welcomes US rescue of mortgage giants (AP)
AP - European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Wednesday welcomed the U.S. government's decision to rescue mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. More »
EU sees lower euro zone 2008 growth, higher inflation (Reuters)
Reuters - Euro zone economic growth will halve in 2008 from 2007 and inflation will be much higher because of financial turmoil, soaring commodity prices and housing market shocks, the European Commission said on Wednesday. More »
Survey: Soft Job Market Expected for Little Rock in 4Q
Little Rock area employers expect to hire at a slow pace during the fourth quarter, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey released today. More »
After Freddie, Fannie Collapse, Dems Want More Of The Same (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - Now that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has seized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , debate is intensifying on Capitol Hill and spilling into the presidential race over the future of the mortgage finance giants. More »
Economy - Tuesday (Investor's Business Daily)
Investor's Business Daily - The federal gov't will run a near-record deficit this year in nominal dollar terms, according to the latest estimates by the Congressional Budget Office. The nonpartisan CBO expects red ink to reach a record $438 bil -- and could go higher as the gov't takes over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. More »
Dollar falls on US economy worries (AFP)
AFP - The dollar weakened against other major currencies Tuesday as investors worried about the health of the US economy after the nationalization of two mortgage finance giants over the weekend. More »
Obama joins critics of Fannie, Freddie pay packets (Reuters)
Reuters - Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama on Tuesday denounced the possibility of rich exit pay packets for the outgoing chiefs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as lawmakers weighed how to restructure the seized mortgage finance companies. More »
Obama warns on Fannie, Freddie golden parachutes (Reuters)
Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama warned U.S. regulators on Tuesday it would be "a gross violation of the public trust" if they did not use their power to block excessive severance payments to executives leaving Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. More »
Fannie and Freddie bailout frustrates U.S. voters (Reuters)
Reuters - The Bush administration's bailout of U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac frustrated many voters who worried it would set a bad precedent and that well-paid executives would go scot-free. More »
Paulson, Lockhart to testify in Senate on September 16 (Reuters)
Reuters - U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and the regulator for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are slated to testify at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on September 16, a source familiar with the hearing said on Tuesday. More »
AIG shares fall on fresh mortgage market concerns (Reuters)
Reuters - Shares of American International Group Inc , the world's biggest insurer, fell 16 percent on Tuesday on fears that the company's large exposure to the mortgage markets could trigger the need to raise fresh capital. More »
Obama dismayed on big Fannie, Freddie exit packages (Reuters)
Reuters - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama said on Tuesday he was dismayed by reports that the ousted chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could receive multimillion-dollar severance packages. More »
Insight: US mortgage U-turn may not be enough (FT.com)
FT.com - Turning points in bear markets are more often than not signposted by big U-turns in government policy. The de facto nationalisation of Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) and Freddie Mac by a pro-market Republican administration is a U-turn of huge proportions. The question, nonetheless, is whether it will be enough to put a floor under both credit and equity markets. More »
Democrats question Fannie, Freddie CEO pay (Reuters)
Reuters - Two U.S. Democratic senators on Tuesday called on regulators to revise severance packages for the outgoing chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, calling them lavish. More »
ALL BUSINESS: Bailout doesn't curb all credit woes (AP)
AP - The government doesn't want Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to go broke, but it better start thinking about what happens if the rest of us do. More »
Pending home sales fall 3.2 percent (AP)
AP - Pending U.S. home sales fell more than expected in July as the housing market's struggles continued, an industry group said Tuesday. More »
GSE operations should be on federal budget: CBO (Reuters)
Reuters - The operations of mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were placed into a federal conservatorship, should now be treated as part of the federal budget, the head of the Congressional Budget Office said on Tuesday. More »
McCain-Palin promise no bailouts like Freddie-Fannie (AFP)
AFP - Republican White House hopefuls John McCain and Sarah Palin slammed the federal rescue of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as "outrageous" but needed in a joint editorial published Tuesday. More »
July pending home sales fell 3.2 percent: NAR (Reuters)
Reuters - Pending sales of existing U.S. homes fell more sharply than expected in July, partially erasing gains from the previous month, data from a real estate trade group showed on Tuesday. More »
Blogs: What They're Saying About Fannie, Freddie (BusinessWeek Online)
BusinessWeek Online - Skepticism swept over the financial blogosphere in response to the government's historic bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced on Sept. 7. More »
Financial Stocks: Is It Safe Yet? (BusinessWeek Online)
BusinessWeek Online - It wasn't hard to find skeptics on Wall Street on Sept. 8, the day after the federal government's weekend takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac . More »
Study: California home to priciest housing markets (AP)
AP - Californians rave about year-round sunshine, temperate climate and easy access to surfing, snowboarding and everything in between. But when it comes to getting the most out of their homebuying dollar, they've got nothing on homeowners in the Midwest, a new study suggests. More »
Congress weighs the fate of Fannie, Freddie (AP)
AP - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Congress should view the next few months as a "time out" in the highly charged debate over what to do with mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. More »