Fannie Mae's quarterly loss shrunk to $1.2 billion. But even as signs point the pressures on Fannie may be easing, it still asked the government for an additional $1.5 billion cash infusion. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac insured nine of ten new loans in the first quarter.

Fannie Mae's story is the story of the housing debacle. Fannie Mae, and its companion Freddie Mac, are used to insure home mortgages backed by the U.S. government. During the heyday of the housing bubble, Fannie and Freddie ended up guaranteeing risky mortgages. When the subprime mortgage crisis hit, Fannie and Freddie came close to collapsing. The federal government took them over under a process called conservatorship.

Continue reading Fannie Mae Posts Smallest Quarterly Loss Since 2007

Fannie Mae Posts Smallest Quarterly Loss Since 2007 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 06 Aug 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Be Delisted

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to Be Delisted originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage on BloggingStocks:

• American International Group Inc. (AIG) said its Q1 earnings doubled, easily topping analysts' expectations.
• Cablevision Systems Corp. (CVC) said Q1 revenue grew, but disappointing earnings dragged down shares.
• Chevron Corp. (CVX) had strong Q1 earnings and boosted its dividend, but Gulf spill concerns weighed on shares.
• CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS) Q1 earnings topped consensus estimates but it also said same-store sales slipped.
• Freddie Mac (FRE) said its lost $8 billion in Q1, less than a year ago, and requested further bailout funds.

Continue reading Earnings Highlights: AIG, Chevron, Freddie Mac, Kraft Foods, Playboy, Visa ...

Earnings Highlights: AIG, Chevron, Freddie Mac, Kraft Foods, Playboy, Visa ... originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 08 May 2010 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Do you remember Freddie Mac (FRE)? This is a story for the record books. For years it was difficult to get a handle on Freddie's finances. When the meltdown occurred, Freddie was forced to bring $1.5 trillion onto its balance sheet. In one stroke of the pen this caused Freddie's net worth to plunge $11.7 billion.

With the $1.5 trillion on its books, Freddie has been showing losses. In the recent quarter, Freddie lost $8 billion, or $2.45 per share. That compares with a loss of $10.4 billion or $3.18 per share in the first quarter. This takes into account $1.3 billion in dividends paid to the Treasury Department.

Continue reading Freddie Loses $8 Billion and Seeks Another $10.6 Billion

Freddie Loses $8 Billion and Seeks Another $10.6 Billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 May 2010 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Late Wednesday, Fannie Mae (FNM) confessed that delinquencies on loans in its single-family guarantee business increased to 5.38% in December, marking a steep increase from 2.42% in December 2008. The multifamily delinquency rate arrived at 0.63% for the final month of 2009, compared to 0.30% in December 2008.

Additionally, Fannie Mae reported that its mortgage investment portfolio contracted by 44.8% to $735.2 billion in January

Continue reading Fannie Mae's Mortgage Delinquencies Climbed in December

Fannie Mae's Mortgage Delinquencies Climbed in December originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Mar 2010 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee Barney Frank said Friday at a hearing on executive compensation issues: "I believe this committee will be recommending abolishing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in their current form and coming up with a whole new system of housing finance."

This represents a turnaround for Representative Frank (D., Mass.), who has been a staunch supporter of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Continue reading Rep. Frank: We May Abolish Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

Rep. Frank: We May Abolish Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Fed Profit Tops $50 Billion

Fed Profit Tops $50 Billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

'Tis the season to be greedy! Fannie Mae (FNM) CEO, Michael Williams, and Freddie Mac (FRE) CEO, Charles Halderman, will each receive $6 million in total compensation for 2009!

How would you like to work for a company that will guarantee every single loss you have. The U.S. Treasury said that they would absorb all losses for Fannie and Freddie for the next three years, if necessary.

Continue reading It's $6 Million Each for Fannie and Freddie Chief Executives

It's $6 Million Each for Fannie and Freddie Chief Executives originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Freddie Mac has a new CEO CFO and his name is Ross Kari. Can you guess his compensation? Is it reasonable in light of the fact that Freddie Mac is controlled by the government?

In these days when we have 5.4 million people who have been on unemployment for at least six months, Kari's compensation is $5.5 million, which includes $2 million as a signing on bonus and a generous salary of $2.3 million.

Continue reading New Freddie Mac CFO hits the compensation jackpot

New Freddie Mac CFO hits the compensation jackpot originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you're wondering why Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) have been bombarded by selling pressure today, look no further than this Wall Street Journal article (subscription required). The newspaper reports that the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) is pushing for the government to split up Fannie and Freddie "into several smaller privately held companies that would issue mortgage related securities carrying an explicit government guarantee."

Under the terms of the proposal, Fannie and Freddie's offspring would no longer be permitted to sit on massive mortgage portfolios. Additionally, all mortgage-backed securities created by the duo would be backed by a federal insurance fund, replacing the rather abstract implied government guarantee that's currently in place.

Continue reading Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac plunge on MBA's proposed overhaul

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac plunge on MBA's proposed overhaul originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

From TheStreet.com Network

• Price Action Suggests Dollar Upside Break
• AIG's Benmosche to Get Paid

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the bizarre rules these days make it worth looking at stocks through a different lens.

How much should we care about low-dollar speculation? How much should we care about the incessant trading in CIT (NYSE: CIT) (Cramer's Take) and Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) (Cramer's Take), Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) (Cramer's Take), or Vonage (NYSE: VG) (Cramer's Take) and Sprint (NYSE: S) (Cramer's Take)? Or even Citigroup (NYSE: C) (Cramer's Take)?

First, I have to tell you that I worry about it less than I used to. Why? Because when we used to have rules and government officials that were willing to speak the truth about stocks, we wouldn't have these single-digit players out there every day. But without it, how in heck can people not believe that Fannie and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) (Cramer's Take) are the biggest and best bets on a turn in housing?

Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Reasonable speculation

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Reasonable speculation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) closed at $1.86. FNM option volume was active on August 25 with 173,103 contracts trading. FNM overall option implied volatility is at 151.

Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) closed at $2.06. FRE option volume was active on August 25 with 53,469 contracts trading. FRE overall option implied volatility of 139 is near its four-month average of 138, according to Track Data.

Option Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Options Update: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac volume and volatility suggests movement originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Earlier today, Colonial BancGroup (NYSE: CNB) fell nearly 12% to 41 cents per share before trading was halted pending a news announcement. As it turns out, the troubled bank is being taken into receivership by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), while BB&T Corporation (NYSE: BBT) will acquire all of CNB's branches and deposits.

The announcement comes on the heels of a report in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that a federal judge has granted a temporary restraining order to freeze $1 billion of Colonial BancGroup's assets. The decision comes after Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) filed suit against CNB, seeking to protect its rights as trustee to $1 billion of loans received from Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE). U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan ruled in Bank of America's favor, citing his concern that Colonial "is on the brink of collapse."

Continue reading Colonial BancGroup to be acquired by BB&T Corp.

Colonial BancGroup to be acquired by BB&T Corp. originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The government is in another pickle. Last September, Freddie and Fannie were effectively nationalized when the Fed stepped in and promised to buy $100 billion of preferred shares in each company and created warrants effectively diluting existing shareholder holdings.

Now the government finds that they have taken on a mountain of debt and wants out of this mess. According to the Washington Post, talks are underway to split the assets of the two companies along the lines of good bank/bad bank.

Continue reading White House wants to split assets of Freddie and Fannie

White House wants to split assets of Freddie and Fannie originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Outspoken congressman Barney Frank has no shortage of critics, and they're sure to be out in force today. This morning, The Wall Street Journal reported that the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, along with his colleague Anthony Weiner, is actually recommending that Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) relax their lending standards on condominiums.

The controversial request follows a decision by both Fannie and Freddie to tighten mortgage-lending standards for condos. In March, Fannie said it would no longer guarantee mortgages on condos in buildings where fewer than 70% of units have been rented, up from its previous benchmark of 51%. Freddie is due to implement similar measures in July. In a letter to the CEOs of both mortgage lenders, Reps. Frank and Weiner expressed their concerns that the higher standard "may be too onerous," and asked the lenders to "make appropriate adjustments" to their approach.

Continue reading Barney Frank encourages Fannie, Freddie to relax lending standards

Barney Frank encourages Fannie, Freddie to relax lending standards originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Jun 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here is today's quiz. If you were given $1,000,000 to spend each day, how many days would it take you to spend $12.2 trillion dollars? You are probably wondering where the number $12.2 trillion came from? Well, this is the amount of money the government has committed for economic recovery.

Some of the monies can be accounted for but its still a big mystery where the rest went. So far we know this:

Continue reading $12.9 trillion for economic recovery. Where is it?

$12.9 trillion for economic recovery. Where is it? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In celebration of Barry Ritholtz's critically-acclaimed new book Bailout Nation, he held The Big Picture Conference, which I was fortunate to attend.

Here are the main points from the most reputable speakers, Congressman Alan Grayson, Nassim Taleb, Doug Kass, and Josh Rosner.

Florida Congressman Alan Grayson discussed how systemic risk is an excuse for socialism and that interconnectedness is the main reason that these institutions are "too big to fail." In fact, these institutions no longer hold social or economic purpose, they are simply too big to exist.

Continue reading The 'big picture' of our economy

The 'big picture' of our economy originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Did you hear? Mortgage rates are surging. That should be no surprise. All we had to do was look at the sharp sell off in US treasuries and you know that mortgage rates would follow suit. The 30 year fixed rate mortgage rate jumped to 5.29%, up from 4.91% just a week ago. On April 2nd the rate was 4.78%.

Just to give you an example in real dollar terms, let's take a $200,000 30 year fixed mortgage at 5.29%. Your monthly payment would be $1109.37 and your 30 payments would be $399,372.25. At 4.91% your monthly payment would be 1062.67 and your 30 payments would be $382,560. So in real dollar terms your cost has risen $16,812.00. In addition lenders are charging 0.7% in fees and points, unchanged from the previous week.

Continue reading US mortgage rates rise sharply

US mortgage rates rise sharply originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE: ANF) reported dismal Q1 numbers as same-store sales plunged.
• Applied Materials Inc. (NASDAQ: AMAT) dismal Q2 results were in line with analysts' expectations.
• Bankrate Inc. (NASDAQ: RATE) reported lower earnings and revenue for Q1 and offered no guidance.
• Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) earnings, revenue, and same-store sales all fell in the first quarter.
• Dr Pepper Snapple Group (NYSE: DPS) Q1 earnings declined but still topped analysts' expectations.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Walmart, JCPenney, Freddie Mac, Playboy, Whole Foods and more

Earnings highlights: Walmart, JCPenney, Freddie Mac, Playboy, Whole Foods and more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 16 May 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Freddie Mac's earnings fall as delinquencies increase

Freddie Mac's earnings fall as delinquencies increase originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 May 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.