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White House says Bush will sign housing bill (Reuters)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:19:12 GMT

Graphic fact file on US housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were put under Federal Reserve oversight and given bigger credit lines. US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson warned Tuesday that more time will be needed to get past the current financial turmoil and called for better regulation to prevent a recurrence.(AFP Graphic/Martin Megino/Gal/Js)Reuters - President George W. Bush on Wednesday dropped a threat to veto a housing rescue bill, clearing the way for measures meant to shore up the worst U.S. home market since the Great Depression.


Bush drops opposition to housing bill (AP)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:32:23 GMT

In this May 9, 2008 file photo. a foreclosure sign stands outside a home in Denver. The optimism that surrounds a new president taking office cannot resurrect home values overnight, and presidents have no direct ability to reduce rising mortgage rates. Nevertheless, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain both promise help for homeowners facing foreclosure. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)AP - President Bush dropped his opposition Wednesday to a broad housing package aimed at bolstering the sagging economy, despite his objections to including $3.9 billion for neighborhoods hit hardest by foreclosures.


Congress May Vote Today on Fannie-Freddie Rescue Plan (Bloomberg)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:25:17 GMT
Bloomberg - July 23 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Congress may vote today on a rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after lawmakers reached a deal on legislation aimed at alleviating the worst housing recession in a quarter century.
"Wall Street got drunk": Bush at private event (Reuters)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 15:04:59 GMT
Reuters - President George W. Bush has an explanation for the housing market meltdown that has thrown the global economy into turmoil: Wall Street got drunk.
House Lawmakers to Vote on Fannie-Freddie Rescue Plan (Bloomberg)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:05:30 GMT
Bloomberg - July 23 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. House of Representatives is set to vote today on a rescue plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after lawmakers reached a deal on legislation aimed at alleviating the worst housing recession in a quarter century.
Bush will sign housing bill into law: W. House (Reuters)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:47:52 GMT
Reuters - President George W. Bush will sign into law a housing rescue package, despite objections about a provision to provide grants to communities to buy and repair foreclosed homes, because the legislation was needed promptly to address the crisis, the White House said on Wednesday.
GM's global auto sales down 5 percent (AFP)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:38:03 GMT

General Motors logo at an automotive sales lot. General Motors on Wednesday posted a five percent drop in global sales in the second quarter as a sharp drop in its home market offset strong gains overseas.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Justin Sullivan)AFP - General Motors on Wednesday posted a five percent drop in global sales in the second quarter as a sharp drop in its home market offset strong gains overseas.


I Ain't Buyin' It (The Motley Fool)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 13:16:31 GMT
The Motley Fool - Banks are closing, and unemployment's up. We have record foreclosures and sky-high gas prices. Everywhere we turn, there's gloom and doom -- on the newspapers, the nightly news, radio âEuro¦ every media outlet is full of these stories.
Banks Stick with Stadium Sponsorships (BusinessWeek Online)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:08:41 GMT
BusinessWeek Online - Over the last several years, many banks galvanized by the housing boom affixed their names to sports stadiums and arenas across the country, hoping to drive brand awareness at the ballpark. Now, as the subprime and credit crisis continues to strike many financial institutions, one expert criticizes certain money-losing companies for buying naming rights.
As economic woes mount, homeless plan to vote (Reuters)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:17:50 GMT
Reuters - Single mother Mary White worked as a sales clerk until the bank foreclosed on the home she rented.
Rescue of mortgage giants could hit $25 billion (AP)
Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:34:33 GMT

This May 2, 2007 file photo shows the Fannie Mae building in Washington. For years, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tenaciously worked to nurture, and then protect, their financial empires by invoking the political sacred cow of homeownership and fielding an army of lobbyists, power brokers and political contributors. Now, new attention is being focused on the bruised mortgage companies as the Bush administration presses its rescue plan to Congress. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)AP - A federal rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost taxpayers $25 billion, congressional budget experts said, as the House scheduled a Wednesday vote on legislation that would tap the mortgage giants' profits to cover any losses from saving 400,000 homeowners from foreclosure.


Tension, Inflation Drive Price Of Gold Higher (Investor's Business Daily)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:38:59 GMT
Investor's Business Daily - Geopolitical tensions and fears in the financial markets owing to the bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, along with a weak dollar, have pushed gold higher again, according to a World Gold Council report released Tuesday.
Fannie and Freddie: Getting to know powerful pair (AP)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:36:34 GMT
AP - Behind their down-home names, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are so vital to the economy that the government scrambled to offer them a lifeline. But what exactly are they, and what do they do?
Paulson says financial stability is top priority (AP)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 21:11:59 GMT

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson addresses a morning gathering at the the main branch of the New York Public Library, Tuesday July 22, 2008. Paulson said Congress needs to quickly approve a support package for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make sure the two mortgage giants maintain their critically important role in housing finance. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)AP - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson spent another day stumping for the U.S. banking system, declaring Tuesday that his top priority was ensuring "stability and confidence in our markets and financial institutions."


US Treasury rescue of Freddie, Fannie at 25 bln dlrs: CBO (AFP)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:38:09 GMT

US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testifies before the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Capitol Hill on July 15, 2008 in Washington, DC. Paulson warned Tuesday that more time will be needed to get past the current financial turmoil and called for better regulation to prevent a recurrence.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Chip Somodevilla)AFP - A rescue plan for mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would cost an estimated 25 billion dollars over the 2009-2010 fiscal period, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday.


Fannie, Freddie bailout may have $25 billion tag (Reuters)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:14:14 GMT

Mortgage firm Freddie Mac headquarters are pictured in McLean, Virginia, July 13, 2008. REUTERS/Larry DowningReuters - Congressional budget analysts on Tuesday put a $25 billion cost estimate on a Bush administration plan to bolster mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , but raised questions about a key assumption underlying the plan.


Fannie and Freddie key to housing, markets: Paulson (Reuters)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 15:06:14 GMT
Reuters - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Tuesday shoring up housing finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was crucial to ending the slide in housing prices and easing the strains in financial markets.
Fed's role in Fannie, Freddie plan limited: Plosser (Reuters)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 14:31:29 GMT
Reuters - The Federal Reserve has a limited role in a government plan to provide financial support for ailing mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , Philadelphia Federal Reserve President Charles Plosser said on Tuesday.
Wachovia loses $8.9B, cuts 6,350 workers, dividend (AP)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:12:12 GMT

Customers use an ATM outside a Wachovia branch bank in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, July 18, 2008. Wachovia says it lost $8.86 billion in the second quarter, hurt by a big goodwill charge and an increase in reserves for bad loans as mortgage defaults soar. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)AP - Wachovia Corp. reported a surprisingly large second-quarter loss Tuesday, deflating Wall Street's hopes that the nation's big banks are weathering the credit crisis well. The bank said it lost $8.86 billion, is slashing its dividend and eliminating 10,750 positions after losses tied to mortgages soared.


Lawmakers move to curb Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac pay (AP)
Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:32:59 GMT

Chart shows salaries for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's top executives; 1c x 3 3/8 inches; 46.5 mm x 85.7 mmAP - Democrats and Republicans queasy about a federal rescue of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are coalescing around the idea of letting the government slap limits on the multimillion-dollar pay packages of their executives.