July 2008

As shares in Freddie Mac (FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM) rocket up and down faster than a whale on a bungee cord, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have taken to Capitol Hill to testify about the government's rescue of these two out of control mortgage finance giants. Former US Treasury Secretary John Snow got it right last week when he said that Fannie ... read more

The Dow industrials broke through the 11,000 level, a level investors have not seen since summer 2006, ending just a bit above that threshold. Tensions over the perilous health of the U.S. mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac added to a chaotic close. Despite an earlier wire report to the contrary, the Federal Reserve announced after the close that it does not plan to extend the ... read more

There's plenty to be worried about when General Electric (GE) reports its second quarter earnings before the opening bell tomorrow. This usually steady performer, which historically beat earnings estimates by a penny under former chief executive Jack Welch, in the first quarter tossed a hand grenade down the volcano that is now the stock market when it announced earnings from continuing ... read more

The commodities markets are in a record bull run, and oil prices are bungee cording higher as a result. Oil prices have risen 42% since January, and gas prices are veering toward $5, some say $7, a gallon, in some parts of the country.  Energy independence is as vital as oxygen to the health of the US economy. Wind energy, solar energy, fuel efficient cars, (it took Congress 32 years to ... read more

Democrats in Congress got their way when they pushed through legislation that would expand the powers of the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the government agency that supports low-cost housing, to back $300 bn in refinancings of upside-down mortgages, in exchange for getting banks to slash the principal balance borrowers owed on the loans.   The US's largest mortgage funding companies, ... read more