Money and Finance
- Warren Buffett Quote
From Warren Buffett’s 2010 FCIC testimony, when asked why he sold his shares in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the year 2000:I was concerned about the management at both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae although our holdings were concentrated in Freddie Mac....
- Fairholme Proposes To Buy Insurance Businesses Of Fannie, Freddie
UPDATE: Bruce Berkowitz was on CNBC discussing this HERE. Thanks to Will for passing this along. (Reuters) - Fairholme Capital Management has proposed to buy the insurance businesses of Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB), a move...
- Say Goodbye To Fannie And Freddie - By William Poole
Found via The Big Picture. THE Federal National Mortgage Association — known as Fannie Mae — and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation — Freddie Mac — were poorly structured from the time, 40 years ago, when they were set up as so-called...
- Ignoring The Elephant In The Bailout - By Gretchen Morgenson
IF you blinked, you might have missed the ugly first-quarter report last week from Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giant that, along with its sister Fannie Mae, soldiers on as one of the financial world’s biggest wards of the state. Freddie — already...
- September 2003 Statement From Ron Paul On The Gses And The Housing Market
I saw this statement mentioned on TV and thought it was worth posting. The connection between the GSEs and the government helps isolate the GSE management from market discipline. This isolation from market discipline is the root cause of the recent reports...
Money and Finance
Annaly - Note on Freddie Mac Following Release of its 3rd Quarter Results
Another (see post below on Pzena) opinion on Freddie Mac:
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Richard Syron, Chairman and CEO of Freddie Mac, articulated the company’s dilemma in very blunt terms. He said that he could either turn his company into “Fortress Freddie”, in which the company shrinks its business, or he can continue down the path they have laid out today. Either outcome is unpleasant. “Fortress Freddie” would mean that the firm would likely be a seller into the market at a time when the market is looking to the GSEs to provide liquidity, which would not benefit the mortgage market or the economy as a whole. The path they have laid out, on the other hand, will depress returns to shareholders, at least in the short run, but keep Freddie as a more active participant in the mortgage finance process.
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Headlines and press releases will continue to affect the trading of the securities of the Agencies. We already see what has happened to their share prices. Agency MBS, as usual, underperform Treasuries, a fact that has not been helped by the challenges of the current credit crunch. But Freddie Mac has chosen wisely to focus on fulfilling its mandate and to shore up its balance sheet. This bodes well for holders of Agency MBS. Freddie Mac stockholders, however, will have to wait.
Headlines and press releases will continue to affect the trading of the securities of the Agencies. We already see what has happened to their share prices. Agency MBS, as usual, underperform Treasuries, a fact that has not been helped by the challenges of the current credit crunch. But Freddie Mac has chosen wisely to focus on fulfilling its mandate and to shore up its balance sheet. This bodes well for holders of Agency MBS. Freddie Mac stockholders, however, will have to wait.
- Warren Buffett Quote
From Warren Buffett’s 2010 FCIC testimony, when asked why he sold his shares in Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in the year 2000:I was concerned about the management at both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae although our holdings were concentrated in Freddie Mac....
- Fairholme Proposes To Buy Insurance Businesses Of Fannie, Freddie
UPDATE: Bruce Berkowitz was on CNBC discussing this HERE. Thanks to Will for passing this along. (Reuters) - Fairholme Capital Management has proposed to buy the insurance businesses of Fannie Mae (FNMA.OB) and Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB), a move...
- Say Goodbye To Fannie And Freddie - By William Poole
Found via The Big Picture. THE Federal National Mortgage Association — known as Fannie Mae — and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation — Freddie Mac — were poorly structured from the time, 40 years ago, when they were set up as so-called...
- Ignoring The Elephant In The Bailout - By Gretchen Morgenson
IF you blinked, you might have missed the ugly first-quarter report last week from Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance giant that, along with its sister Fannie Mae, soldiers on as one of the financial world’s biggest wards of the state. Freddie — already...
- September 2003 Statement From Ron Paul On The Gses And The Housing Market
I saw this statement mentioned on TV and thought it was worth posting. The connection between the GSEs and the government helps isolate the GSE management from market discipline. This isolation from market discipline is the root cause of the recent reports...