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Q&A: Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae (Finance, 35 articles)
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WASHINGTON - A day that began with a stomach-churning drop in stock prices for the two largest mortgage finance companies ended with a measure of relief, after government officials and lawmakers managed to calm investors worried about the health of the two companies. I. Even after a week of unprecedented losses, the companies' declines early Friday were the sharpest yet: Freddie Mac shares were down more than 50 percent early in the day before paring their losses in the afternoon. Wall Street analysts disagree over how high the companies' losses will mount as home prices decline further and foreclosures grow, an outcome that depends on the course of the housing market and the broader economy. NEW YORK - Fresh concerns about the troubled housing and mortgage markets were triggered yesterday by speculation that the government will be forced to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Concern about rising defaults and foreclosures has cut the stock price of the two companies, but the fall turned into a rout early Friday, even though the Times said no government action is imminent. A Fed spokeswoman said the central bank had not talked with Fannie and Freddie about the emergency lending program.
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Other stories about Fannie, Freddie and Mae:
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Oil sets new record near $147 a barrel :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Business (Finance, 5 articles)
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Oil prices spiked Friday as continued tensions in the Middle East and concerns of renewed violence in Nigeria pushed the price for a barrel of oil to a record near $147. Oil prices had fallen $10 over two days to start the week and as oil rebounded Friday, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell more than 120 points. Oil prices rebounded by more than $5 a barrel Thursday, as another missile launch by Iran stoked worries that escalating political tensions in the Middle East could cut off supplies out of the region.
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InBev Raises Its Offer for Anheuser-Busch (Finance, 5 articles)
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Shares of Anheuser-Busch and the Belgian brewer InBev climbed sharply on Friday as the two began friendly talks to create the world's largest brewer in a deal for about $50 billion. The two companies are expected to hold negotiations over the weekend, and a deal could be announced as soon as Monday, these people said. On Friday, in a sign of InBev's confidence, the company began syndicating $45 billion in bank loans that it would need to finance a deal, according to a report by the Reuters Loan Pricing Corporation.
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New housing prices rise at slowest rate in 6 years: Stats Can (Finance, 7 articles)
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(Patti Edgar/CBC) Contractors' selling prices in May for new homes increased modestly - the slowest rate of increase in nearly six years, Statistics Canada said Friday. In year-over-year comparisons, selling prices increased 4.1 per cent between May 2007 and May 2008 as compared with a yearly increase of 5.2 per cent recorded in April. US consumer sentiment has risen slightly in latest figures but remains close to 28-year lows, as higher food and energy prices and rising unemployment continued to take a toll on the economic outlook of many Americans.
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Discounters benefited most from 4.3% rise in June sales - (Finance, 5 articles)
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Price reductions, the federal government, and Mother Nature helped some retailers gain what some analysts are calling eye-popping sales growth last month. Retailers said yesterday that sales at stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales and a barometer of retail health, rose higher than expected in June thanks to aggressive summer promotions, government stimulus checks, and warm weather. " Wal-Mart's number was pretty amazing Whalin said, referring to the company's 6.4 percent increase in sales at stores open at least a year.
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ABC News: U.S. Exports Rise to Record High (Finance, 4 articles)
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Record Canadian exports to countries other than the United States helped push the country's trade surplus to $5.5 billion in May, Statistics Canada said Friday. Canadian exports grew for the fifth consecutive month, rising 5.4 per cent to $42.1 billion, while imports increased 3.9 per cent to $36.6 billion, their largest increase since July 2007. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in May as exports - including industrial supplies and consumer goods - climbed to all-time highs.
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Microsoft supports Icahn's Yahoo bid - (Finance, 8 articles)
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Eric Schmidt has waded into the debate about Microsoft s pursuit of Yahoo, saying the world would be "better off" if the group were to remain independent. Allen & Co, the investment bank, is holding its annual conference at Sun Valley, a mountainous resort, and has attracted a stellar line-up of investment managers and power brokers, indicative of the event's pulling power. Yahoo wants to enlist a small army of search start-ups as allies in the hope that collectively they will be able to stop the Google juggernaut, whose share of Web searches keeps growing.
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blaster@cs.columbia.edu
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