Saturday, July 12, 2008

Freddie and Fannie in Freefall

The dike might be cracking on the U.S. financial system and U.S. regulators are trying to figure out how to make sure it doesn't burst.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), the behemoth caretakers of U.S. home ownership financing, are looking increasingly unstable. Their demise would spell disaster, and the U.S. cannot allow that to happen.

The market went nuts this week as former St. Louis Fed President Albert Poole suggested that Freddie Mac is technically insolvent. What does the market think? As of Friday morning, Fannie and Freddie stock were down 53% and 64%, respectively ... just this week!

No comments: