Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), Ginnie Mae -- The Federal Reserve is increasing its efforts to breathe some life into the ailing housing market and said Tuesday that it will begin purchasing up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities early next month From Fannie, Freddie and Ginnie. In doing so, the government hopes to lower the rates being charged for consumer loans. FNM and FRE shares traded 12.9% and 10% higher in premarket.
LyondellBasell Industries, the world's third-largest private chemical company, may file for bankruptcy protection. The Netherlands-based company has large U.S. operations. It found itself in the midst of a cash crunch as sales plunged, according to The Wall Street Journal. It told lenders it is trying to line up as much as $2 billion in bankruptcy financing. This could put chemical stocks in focus and under pressure.
Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA) and Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) can't agree on a new carriage fee deal. Consequently, Viacom's Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 16 other channels will go dark on Time Warner Cable at 12:01 a.m. Thursday if no agreement is found. Yes, millions of viewers may not be able to tune into "SpongeBob," "The Daily Show" and other shows.
UBS AG (NYSE: UBS) sold its stake in Bank of China Ltd. to raise cash as a three-year lockup period ended today. It sold 3.4 billion H-shares to professional investors and earned a profit of approximately $400 million from the sale, according to Bloomberg.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) -- Gizmodo Tuesday renewed rumors surrounding CEO Steve Jobs's health, suggesting it is rapidly declining. CNBC's Jim Goldman, however, is highly skeptical about these rumors. Of course, investors and traders were quite jittery and agitated following the Gizmodo report and the stock dipped midday, but mostly recovered by closing time. AAPL shares traded higher in premarket action.
Closing Bell: Economic Catapult for Thanksgiving & Black Friday (WMT, TGT, GRMN, GOOG, MSFT)
Deere up on Q4 earnings performance
Reid Hoffman: LinkedIn will go public (at some point)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-31-2008 @ 9:15AM
Albert said...
"Of course, investors and traders were quite jittery and agitated following the Gizmodo report and the stock [AAPL] dipped midday"
Of course?
BTW, that was no dip, it was a collapse on hugely increased volume. Just like bad ol' 2008 (and 2007!), with its monster bear traps making fools of regular investors.
This 'Jobs is dying' story is second only in popularity at bear-fests to the 'iPods are finished' story.
Wouldn't it be nice if market manipulation were illegal, and there were some attempt at enforcement.
But then, there's the SEC.
Good ol' Brownie...