Category
Current Events
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11.14.08Freddie loses $25 BillionFrom CNN: Freddie Mac reported a $25 billion quarterly loss Friday that forced the mortgage finance giant to tap $100 billion in bailout money set aside by the government. The loss triggered a $13.8 billion Treasury Department investment in Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500). The firm is likely to get the money by the end of the month; Treasury will receive preferred shares in return. A Treasury spokeswoman did not have any immediate comment. Treasury and regulator Federal Home Finance Authority announced on Sept. 7 that they had taken control of Freddie and Fannie Mae, the other giant mortgage finance company, when it became ...
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11.10.08Fannie Mae reports $29 Billion quarterly lossFrom Bloomberg: Fannie Mae posted a record quarterly loss as new Chief Executive Officer Herbert Allison slashed the value of the mortgage-finance provider's assets by at least $21.4 billion and said it may need to tap federal funds next year. In its first report since being seized by the U.S. government last month, Washington-based Fannie Mae said its third-quarter net loss was $29 billion, or $13 a share, from $1.4 billion, or $1.56, a year earlier. Allison, installed last month when the government took over Fannie and its smaller rival Freddie Mac, reduced most of Fannie's deferred tax credits, increased default estimates and ...
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10.17.08Housing starts, stopFrom the USA Today: Construction of new homes fell to a 17-1/2 year low in September and the worsening housing slump and growing turmoil in financial markets helped pushed permits for new homes to a nearly 27-year low. The Commerce Department said Friday that starts on new homes fell 6.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate 817,000 units, slowest pace since January 1991. This was well below the 880,000 rate economists expected. The September rate of starts on single-family homes fell 12% to a 544,000-unit annual rate, slowest pace since August 1982. With falling home prices, soaring foreclosures and financial turmoil curtailing the availability ...
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09.29.08Circuit City posts wider lossFrom Reuters: Electronics retailer Circuit City Stores (CC.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted a wider quarterly loss and withdrew its financial outlook as it reviews its business ahead of the key holiday shopping season, sending its shares down 8 percent. The company, which last week announced the immediate exit of its chairman and chief executive officer, also said on Monday it would suspend store openings beginning with its 2010 fiscal year to focus on turning around its operations. "These guys face a big uphill climb," said Joe Feldman, managing director of Telsey Advisory Group. "The busiest time of the year is fast ...
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09.29.08Don’t call it a failureFrom Reuters: Citigroup Inc will buy the banking operations of Wachovia Corp in a deal assisted by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, the FDIC said on Monday. Under the deal, struck in consultation with the Federal Reserve, the Treasury and President George W. Bush, depositors will be fully protected and no cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund is expected, the FDIC said. "Wachovia did not fail; rather, it is to be acquired by Citigroup Inc on an open bank basis with assistance from the FDIC," a statement on the FDIC's website said. It's a failure in all but name only, with Wachovia getting swallowed ...
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09.27.08WaMu files for bankruptcySEATTLE, Sep 26, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- WASHINGTON MUTUAL, INC. announced today that it has, together with its wholly-owned subsidiary, WMI Investment Corp., commenced voluntary cases under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The chapter 11 filings were a result of the appointment, by the Office of Thrift Supervision, of the Federal Deposit Insurance Company as receiver of Washington Mutual Bank, Washington Mutual, Inc.'s banking subsidiary on September 25, 2008. SOURCE: Washington Mutual, Inc. No Money, originally uploaded by jaffard klinton.
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09.24.08Existing home sales slide 2.2% in AugustFrom the Atlanta Investor Wire: The sales of existing homes fell again in August after a slight gain in July according to the latest report by the National Association of Realtors. Nationwide, last month’s home sales fell 2.2 percent from July and were 10.7 percent below August 2007. The national median existing home price also fell in the past year from $224,400 to $203,100 – a drop of 9.5 percent. In the south, existing home sales actually increased 0.5 percent, but were still 15.1 percent off of last year’s pace. The median home price was $176,500, which is 3.4 percent lower than August of ...
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09.20.08Congressional leaders stunned by warningsFrom The New York Times: It was a room full of people who rarely hold their tongues. But as the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, laid out the potentially devastating ramifications of the financial crisis before congressional leaders on Thursday night, there was a stunned silence at first. Mr. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. had made an urgent and unusual evening visit to Capitol Hill, and they were gathered around a conference table in the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. “When you listened to him describe it you gulped," said Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York. As Senator ...
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09.17.08Washington Mutual Begins Auction to Sell ItselfFrom the New York Times: Washington Mutual, the struggling savings and loan, has been working on several efforts to save itself, including a potential sale, people briefed on the matter said Wednesday. Goldman Sachs, which Washington Mutual has hired, started the process several days ago, these people said. Among the potential bidders that Goldman has talked to are Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and HSBC. But no buyers may materialize. That could force the government to place Washington Mutual into conservatorship, like IndyMac, or find a bridge-bank solution, which was extended to thrifts in the new housing regulations. Citigroup is also considering an offer, ...
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09.17.08Housing starts drop in AugustFrom the Wall Street Journal: Home construction tumbled a second month in a row during August, falling below expectations to the lowest level in 17 years. and: Housing starts decreased 6.2% last month to a seasonally adjusted 895,000 annual rate, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Single-family home groundbreakings also declined, and building permits fell sharply. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires expected August starts to drop by 1.6% to a 950,000-unit annual rate. The level of 895,000 was the lowest since 798,000 in January 1991. July housing starts decreased 12.4% to 954,000, revised down from the originally reported drop of 11.0% to 965,000-unit annual rate. ...