Fannie Mae

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>

Obama Looks to Keep Feds in Mortgage Biz

Prez reportedly rejects calls to pull gov't out of housing market

(Newser) - Despite two White House proposals floated earlier in the year to get the federal government out of the housing market, President Obama will likely opt for the third option: reforming the housing market over the next decade but continuing to extend federal loan subsidies and insure most mortgages, reports the...

S&P Downgrades Fannie and Freddie, Too

And any other agencies linked to long-term US debt

(Newser) - Standard & Poor's has downgrade fever. The ratings agency today downgraded the credit ratings of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a host of other agencies linked to long-term US debt, including farm lenders; long-term government-backed debt from 32 banks and credit unions; and three major clearinghouses,...

Home Prices Have Fallen 57 Months in a Row

Home values fell 3% in first quarter of 2011

(Newser) - There's still no sign of a housing market bottom, as continuing home foreclosures caused housing values to fall 3% in the first quarter of 2011 over the previous quarter, their biggest dive since late 2008, reports the Wall Street Journal . "We expected December and January to be bad,...

Fortune 500 List: Walmart, Exxon Mobil Again Top the List
 Walmart Rules Fortune 500 List 

Walmart Rules Fortune 500 List

Editors see huge disparity between businesses, ordinary Americans

(Newser) - Turns out, last year was a pretty good one for US businesses. Total revenue for Fortune 500 companies jumped 10.5% to $10.8 trillion, while profits surged 81%. "We've rarely seen such a stark gulf between the fortunes of the 500 and those of ordinary Americans,"...

Fannie, Freddie Execs Improperly Paid Big Bucks
Fannie, Freddie Execs Improperly Paid Big Bucks
says report

Fannie, Freddie Execs Improperly Paid Big Bucks

Government hasn't been transparent enough, report complains

(Newser) - The federal government has improperly paid the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac huge salaries while the housing giants have been under government control, the Inspector General of the Federal Housing Finance Agency concludes in a new report. The CEOs were paid a total of $17.1 million in...

Treasury to Sell Off $142B in Toxic Assets, Make Billions

'Notably improved' market means $15B-$20B profit for taxpayers

(Newser) - The Treasury Department will start selling the $142 billion portfolio of mortgage-backed securities, the "toxic" assets it bought up during the financial crisis , the Wall Street Journal reports. The securities are mostly 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. And having bought the securities...

SEC Poised to Charge Fannie, Freddie Execs

But regulatory agency disagrees, and nothing has yet been filed

(Newser) - The SEC is making moves toward charging current and former Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives, sources tell the Washington Post , but the Federal Housing Finance Agency disagrees with the move. The SEC has sent notices to at least four senior executives over the past eight weeks warning them they...

US: OK, Not Everyone Needs to Own a Home

Plan to dissolve Fannie and Freddie marks a shift in philosophy

(Newser) - The federal government is having a change of heart about what constitutes the American Dream. It long pushed the notion that people should own homes—one of the factors blamed for the housing mess—but a new proposal to dissolve Fannie and Freddie marks a pullback from that philosophy, reports...

White House: Let's Kill Fannie, Freddie

Obama administration wants to get out of the mortgage market

(Newser) - The Obama administration will propose dissolving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and reducing the federal government’s role in the mortgage market, sources tell the Wall Street Journal . The White House is set to release three plans for moving forward without the government-owned mortgage giants, which originated nine out of...

Taxpayers Footed Fannie, Freddie's $160M Legal Bill

Americans spend $24.2 million to defend executives

(Newser) - Taxpayers have spent more than $160 million defending Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in fraud lawsuits since the government took over the companies in 2008. The closely guarded cost was released last week after Rep. Randy Neugebauer requested the figures last year. Some $132 million of the total went to...

Issa Reveals His Hit List
Issa Reveals
His Hit List

Issa Reveals His Hit List

WikiLeaks, Fannie Mae among planned investigations

(Newser) - Rep. Darrell Issa is coming out swinging: Congress’s new government oversight chief has placed WikiLeaks, FDA recalls, and much, much more on his long list of planned investigations, according to an outline of committee hearing topics obtained by Politico . Other matters on Issa's slate include corruption in Afghanistan; the...

Issa Vows to Investigate Bush, Too
Issa Vows to Investigate Bush, Too

Issa Vows to Investigate Bush, Too

GOP rep with keys to House Oversight wants to probe everything

(Newser) - Darrell Issa’s been chomping at the bit to investigate President Obama, and as the next chairman of the House Oversight Committee, he’s about to get his chance. But Issa says he’s not going to let George W. Bush off the hook, either. “I’m going to...

Tab for Fannie, Freddie Could Soar to $259B

That would be nearly twice what they've received so far

(Newser) - The government spelled out today just how much the most expensive rescue of the financial crisis will end up costing taxpayers—as much as $259 billion for mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. By contrast, the combined bailouts of financial companies and the auto industry have cost taxpayers roughly...

Florida Law Firm Bribed Workers to Forge Foreclosures

...and big bribes at that: jewelry, cars, houses

(Newser) - Employees at Florida’s largest “foreclosure mill” routinely altered and forged documents to speed up the foreclosure process—and were rewarded with jewelry, cars, and other lavish gifts as a result, witnesses tell Florida’s Attorney General. Three former employees of the law offices of David J. Stern have...

Foreclosure Scandal Messing Up Home Sales
Foreclosure Scandal Messing Up Home Sales
UPDATED

Foreclosure Scandal Messing Up Home Sales

Thousands of sales thrown into limbo

(Newser) - Hundreds of thousands of foreclosures have been thrown into limbo in the wake of revelations that major lenders didn’t properly review the foreclosure documents, creating a big mess for people trying to buy those homes, the New York Times reports. JPMorgan and GMAC have suspended foreclosures in the 23...

Lender Admits Blindly Approving Foreclosures

Evictions suspended over huge 'robosigning' scandal

(Newser) - Foreclosure eviction proceedings around the country have ground to a halt after a mortgage company employee admitted to signing off on foreclosures without looking at them. The head of foreclosure document processing at Ally Financial, the nation's fourth-largest home lender, was required to verify information and sign documents in the...

Homeowner Bailout May Be on the Way
Homeowner Bailout
May Be on the Way
hot rumor dept

Homeowner Bailout May Be on the Way

Insiders think Fannie and Freddie will forgive mortgage debt

(Newser) - Another enormous bailout may be in the works, this time for underwater homeowners, writes Reuters blogger James Pethokoukis. Rumor has it that the Obama administration will sidestep Congress and order lenders Fannie and Freddie to forgive some of the mortgage debt of Americans who owe more than their homes are...

Fannie Mae Won't Lend to Deadbeat Homeowners

'Strategic defaulters' won't be eligible for 7 years

(Newser) - Fannie Mae has decided to deny homeowners who intentionally default on their mortgages any new loans for seven years, the company announced yesterday. About 12% of foreclosures are the result of people who could pay their mortgages choosing not to and walking away, generally because their home is now worth...

Bailout Tab Plummets; Companies Quick to Repay

Expected costs down from $250B to $89B in past year

(Newser) - The financial bailout is looking a lot less expensive these days: At a projected $250 billion just a year ago, the expected federal bailout tab is now down to $89 billion—less than the government paid for the savings-and-loan crisis 20 years ago. The falling bailout costs come thanks to...

'Baby Killer' Rep. Gets Razzed on House Floor

Democratic lawmaker jokes about 'homeownership killer' bill

(Newser) - Randy Neugebauer can’t catch any slack after copping to his “baby killer” outburst in the House. Today, Massachusetts Democrat Michael Capuano aimed a jab during a hearing on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. “My emotions might overcome me and I might be tempted to scream out that...

Stories 21 - 40 | << Prev   Next >>
Most Read on Newser