Fannie Mae
Another Job for Washington
Congress and the president rushed to rescue the financial system with a $700-billion bailout. Now they need to turn their attention to the housing front, where foreclosures continue to mount. One proposed solution: modify the terms of existing mortgages.
Waxman to Greenspan: Were You Wrong?
“Partially,” answered Alan Greenspan, the former oracle and maestro of the Federal Reserve between 1987-2006.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee held a great hearing yesterday on the role that the credit rating agencies played in the financial system’s meltdown. Today’s hearing on federal regulators on Wall Street has been more theater so far.
Bailout Smackdown
Democrats and Republicans came together for the Wall Street rescue. But as they begin deliberations on long-term reforms, both seem to be prepping for a heated partisan battle.
GOP Line on Financial Crisis: Blame the GSE’s
The House oversight committee is holding a hearing now on the collapse of Lehman Bros. and the financial crisis generally. This hearing– and four others– will likely provide hints of how Congress, post-bailout bill, will try to revamp how the government polices Wall Street.
The committee has produced internal Lehman Bros. documents that show Lehman CEO [...]
SNL Takes on the Mortgage Crisis
“Saturday Night Live’s” debate skits and Tina Fey as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin usually draw all the attention this campaign season, especially from the political blogs that post excerpts on Sundays.
But this weekend, the show managed to take on the mortgage crisis — not the easiest topic for humor.
At L.A. Land, Peter Viles says that [...]
McCain Chief-of-Staff Lobbied for Freddie Mac
This is really getting ridiculous — but, then again, not altogether surprising.
McCain Adviser vs. New York Times
McCain senior campaign adviser Steve Schmidt had his response ready to go when reporters inevitably questioned campaign adviser Rick Davis’ $35,000 per month former position as the president of an organization set up by mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stave off increased federal regulation, as reported today by The New York Times.
Without [...]
Obama on Fed Plan: “We Are All in This Together”
Sen. Barack Obama spoke out in more detail on the Fed-Treasury bailout plan on Friday, stressing that while the U.S. faces one of “the most serious financial crises in this nation’s history,” he backs a progressive approach, grounded in the reality that “we are all in this together.”
According to prepared remarks, Obama first stressed that [...]
Biden Slams McCain’s Economic Delusions
In Michigan today, Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, seized on Sen. John McCain’s odd claim that the fundamentals of the American economy remain strong.
After Fannie, Freddie, Lehman and a market dive to start the week, few would describe the economy as strong. Biden hit this point to depict McCain as weirdly out of [...]
Bailouts and False Hopes
Housing Wire weighs in today with a cautionary note on the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, making the same point we did in our pieces this week on loan workouts - There’s no quick fix here.
From Housing Wire:
Most analysts we spoke with suggested that the move to take over Fannie and Freddie would [...]
