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Administration seeks to calm fears over Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac (Finance, 33 articles)
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As the Bush administration scrambles to address the sudden decline of the country's two largest mortgage finance companies, some of their longtime critics say the crisis has been building for years. The companies lost half their market value early Friday after reports said the government was considering a takeover of the firms and was prepared for shareholders to be wiped out. 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. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shares fell again Friday - and the broader stock market followed suit - as concern mounted that the government will be forced to take over the beleaguered mortgage finance companies, which some investors fear are at risk of default. Under that dark cloud, politicians of both parties rallied behind the two companies Friday, expressing confidence and calling their role in the housing market essential. 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.
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Other stories about Fannie, Freddie and companies:
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Citi Settlement Ends Enron Creditors' 'Mega Claims' Suit (Finance, 11 articles)
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Securities regulators yesterday sued two former Enron Corp. lawyers for allegedly participating in the devastating fraud and helping other executives at the Houston energy trader to mislead investors about financial setbacks and stock sales. A federal appeals court yesterday thwarted attempts by a group of Enron investors to sue investment banks over their role in the Houston energy trader's collapse, giving Wall Street a powerful weapon to defend itself against future claims. The filer, called Enron Creditors Recovery Corp., alleged that with the help of banks like Citi, Enron kept creditors in the dark about the company's financial troubles by using shady accounting.
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Toyota will start making Prius hybrid in US (Finance, 5 articles)
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Industrywide, sales have dropped 10 percent in the first six months of this year and are moving at their slowest pace in more than a decade. Toyota said the moves will not affect any full-time workers, who will get training and do other projects during the shutdown. DETROIT Toyota Motor Corp. will start producing the Prius in the U.S. for the first time as the Japanese automaker adjusts its U.S. manufacturing operations to meet demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
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GE profit falls, meets estimates, sells loan unit (Finance, 5 articles)
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The consumer and industrial businesses have 50,000 of GE's 300,000 employees, sales of $13.3 billion and a profit of slightly more than $1 billion last year. HARTFORD, CONN. General Electric Co. reverted to form with no big surprises in its latest earnings report, and investors shocked by an unexpected profit shortfall three months ago showed their appreciation. The conglomerate whose interests range from making loans, TV shows and light bulbs to building industrial machinery reported a 6 percent decline in its second-quarter earnings but still matched analyst's expectations.
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blaster@cs.columbia.edu
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