Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac tumbled in New York trading to the lowest valuations since at least 1990 as speculation increased that the U.S. Treasury will bail out the mortgage-finance companies, wiping out shareholders. Fannie, based in Washington, slumped as much as 20 percent and McLean, Virginia-based Freddie dropped as much as 32 percent, extending its losses to 90 percent for the year. Rising borrowing costs and evidence that demand for their debt was waning last month led Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to seek the authority to pump unlimited amounts of capital in Fannie and Freddie in an emergency. Freddie paid its highest yields on record in a debt sale yesterday amid concern that credit losses are depleting the capital of the beleaguered mortgage-finance companies.
Fannie and Freddie have $223 billion of bonds due by the end of the quarter and their success in rolling over that debt may determine whether they can avoid a federal bailout. Fannie has about $120 billion of debt maturing through Sept. 30, while Freddie has $103 billion.
Treasuries rose after a report that Freddie Mac will meet with government officials, fueling concern a takeover of the mortgage-finance provider is imminent and leading investors to the safety of government debt.
Oil prices began creeping upward this morning, but a government report that reflected a surprising increase in crude supply stalled the oil rally and allowed The Dow to climb as much as 80 points before falling back. Treasuries are steady with the 10 Year yielding 3.80%.
Posts
