FREDDIE MAC

Despite rate hike, homebuyer affordability remains strong for many families, according to the government lender.

Shareholders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who have sued the U.S. government for $41.5 billion in damages, may not have the strongest case.

On March 14, Fannie Mae stock was floundering around 50 cents per share. On March 15, the fuse was lit on shares of FNMA as housing legislation rumors swirled around the digisphere. By March 16, the stock jumped 20 percent, and by the end of the next day it hit 75 cents per share -- a 50 percent spike in a week on pure rumors. Not bad.A week later, Fannie Mae stock tripled, then lost all of the value it gained in the same day. Does anybody else see a serious problem with this? I do. Originally, I wanted to buy Fannie Mae stock, thinking it sounded like a lucrative idea. The line of thought went something like: The better the housing market does, the better the stock will do, right?

The surplus the United States government magically conjured up for the month of April has created a media maelstrom. A portion of the surplus was on behalf of higher tax receipts following tax season. Another part was a surprise influx of cash from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- to the tune of $95 billion.It would therefore make sense for the U.S. government to keep Fannie and Freddie as long as possible, to serve as a profit engine to zip up its deficits.Think about it. At the moment, the government has Fannie and Freddie in conservatorship. And for the time being, it’s unknown whether shareholders will be entitled to future profits -- all profits currently go to the government. There is also rumor that the two companies will be consolidated into a single entity.

With its bottom line improving, housing-finance giant Fannie Mae said it is paying the government back a $59 billion chunk of what it owes the U.S. government for its 2008 bailout.

President Barack Obama wants quick confirmation of Tom Wheeler and Rep. U.S. Mel Watt so they can start working right away.

Government-owned Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were set up to help blue-collar and middle-class workers buy their own homes at lower interest rates, are also helping the nation's one percent to purchase luxurious homes.

Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman and a great proponent of new bank regulations, was a key enabler in the rise and eventual collapse of Fannie Mae, the government-sponsored enterprise focused on mortgage financing, according to a new book.

The U.S. Treasury is accelerating taxpayer repayments by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage finance companies that own or guarantee around 60 percent of the country's housing market, but the strategy will only work if the housing market continues to improve.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency, or FHFA, the regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said it has "significant concerns" over proposals by local governments to use eminent domain to seize foreclosures and reduce loan balances to provide homeowner relief.

Fannie Mae (OTC: FNMA), the largest government-controlled mortgage backer, reported its second consecutive quarterly profit for the first time in five years Wednesday, but its CEO said the company should cede business to private investors when the housing market finally recovers.

Freddie Mac, the government-controlled mortgage financier, reported a $3.02 billion second quarter profit Tuesday on a stronger portfolio, another sign of an improving housing market.

U.S. 30-year fixed mortgages rates rose for only second time in the past 14 weeks on modest economic improvements, mortgage financier Freddie Mac said Thursday.

A top U.S. housing regulator refused on Tuesday to offer principal reductions for mortgages held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, highlighting a sharp difference in views over the best way to aid the beleagured real estate market.

The 30-year U.S. mortgage rate fell to new record low of 3.49 percent in the week ending Thursday, an unprecedented 1.06 percent below last year's value of 4.55 percent, according to mortgage financier Freddie Mac, with the drop reflecting growing concern over the economy.

The EU is looking into the possibility of making Libor and Euribor rate-rigging -- the deliberate manipulation of interest rates that set the benchmark for over $500 trillion in financial contracts - a criminal offense.

The future of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-controlled entities that guarantee around 60 percent of the U.S. mortgage market, remains uncertain, but their federal regulator is requesting a plan to wind them down and sell their assets.

Although the U.S. home construction industry continues to lag behind the broader job market, improvements in housing are expected to create jobs and boost construction this year, mortgage financier Freddie Mac said in a new report, Housing: Getting Back To Work.

The pace of bankruptcy filings in the U.S. is slowing down to pre-recession levels, but don?t cheer just yet ?because hundreds of thousands of Americans might have been too broke to file for bankruptcy.

U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to a record low of 3.62 percent, its 10th such weekly record low in the last 11 weeks, following weak economic data, mortgage financier Freddie Mac said Thursday.

U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages fell to a new record low of 3.66 percent following weak economic indicators, mortgage financier Freddie Mac said Thursday.