fannie freddie

Mortgage giants Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac may back 30 million mortgages. But that doesn't mean that the new foreclosure prevention program announced this week by the Bush administration will rescue every troubled borrower on their books.

Renee Montagne has today's Last Word in business.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Wall Street likes Henry Paulson's plan to break the logjam in the mortgage markets. But the Treasury secretary and other policymakers still have much work to do to get the economy on a more steady footing.

When it came to buying influence in Washington, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae were among Corporate America's biggest spenders.

Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, has questions about the government's takeover plan for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae after receiving assurances over the summer that such a bailout would not be needed.

Dodd talks with Renee Montagne.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Financial markets around the world reacted favorably to the U.S. government's plan to take over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

In the United States, the move sent interest rates down, raising hopes in the real estate industry that prospective buyers may be ready to enter the housing market.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

The Bush administration Sunday seized the two housing lenders that together own or guarantee about half the nation's home loans.

But the Treasury Secretary did not say what it thinks should happen next, says David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

China is the largest purchaser of the debt of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both the United States and China depend on the companies for economic survival.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us