Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp

Speculators poured into shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday, the first day of trading after the Obama administration in effect gave the companies blank checks of federal support. But exactly how the government's move makes a payoff for Fannie and Freddie shareholders more likely in the long run, rather than less likely, ought to puzzle most investors. The stock market's reaction mystifies veteran banking analyst Bert Ely at Ely & Co. in Alexandria, Va. "They're not going to get anything back," he says of any investors who have long-term faith in the mortgage giants' shares.

The chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each could earn as much as $6 million this year and next, despite huge continued losses at the seized mortgage giants and a government bailout tab of more than $100 billion that the Obama administration said could rise even higher. Fannie Mae Chief Executive Michael Williams will earn a base salary of $900,000 in 2009 and 2010, with a deferred base salary of $3.1 million each year to be paid "only if the enterprise meets performance metrics" set by its board and subject to government review, according to filings Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Fannie Mae and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Wednesday that they will increase the limit on the size of mortgages they will buy in 1997 by 4%, to $214,600 from $207,000. The two enterprises' government charter requires them to base their single-family mortgage purchase limits on an index of home prices put out by the Federal Housing Finance Board. The value of that index went down in 1993 and 1994. This year, the index rose 8%, which reflects the steady increase in the value of U.S.

Buffett Apparently Sells Freddie Mac Stake: Warren Buffett has apparently sold his 2.3 million-share stake in Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., the U.S. government-sponsored entity that provides funding for residential mortgages. Buffett, through his flagship company Berkshire Hathaway, indicated in papers filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission that he sold the Freddie Mac stake in the first quarter of this year.

Firms Agree to Pay Freddie Mac Fines: All of the Wall Street firms accused by the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. of inflating orders and falsifying information agreed to pay penalties so that they could continue to sell its securities. The firms that sell debt for the agency known as Freddie Mac had faced a deadline Monday to comply with the sanctions or drop out of the dealer group.

Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.'s preferred stock soared Thursday, when the first in a series of ownership restrictions were lifted in a move that could bring fresh capital to the savings and loan industry. In heavy trading on the New York Stock Exchange, shares jumped $32.75 a share to $132.75, the first opportunity savings and loan institutions have had to boost their holdings beyond 150,000 shares. On Wednesday, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.'

The government reached a $16.4-million settlement Tuesday with Freddie Mac's former chief executive for his role in the mortgage finance company's multibillion-dollar accounting scandal. Leland Brendsel, who was ousted in 2003, agreed to pay $2.5 million in fines to the government, give back $10.5 million in salary and bonuses to Freddie Mac and waive claims against the company for compensation worth $3.4 million.

Gold-market bulls couldn't buy publicity much better than this: The U.S. Mint says it has run out of 1-ounce American Eagle gold coins because of rocketing demand. That may have helped fuel a sharp rebound in gold futures prices Thursday, although the metal also got plenty of help from rising U.S.-Russia tensions, a falling dollar and renewed buying of commodities across the board.

Troubled mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac and its employees were dealt another blow Wednesday when one of the company's top executives was found dead in his Virginia home, an apparent suicide. The death of David Kellermann, 41, the acting chief financial officer, adds more turmoil at Freddie Mac.

Fresh concerns about the troubled housing and mortgage markets were triggered Thursday by speculation that the government would be forced to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the twin pillars of the home loan industry. Analysts worry that the mortgage giants won't be able to raise enough money from investors to cover rising losses from loan defaults. Those doubts have ramped up a sell-off by investors, sending shares of both companies to 17-year lows.

Speculators poured into shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Monday, the first day of trading after the Obama administration in effect gave the companies blank checks of federal support. But exactly how the government's move makes a payoff for Fannie and Freddie shareholders more likely in the long run, rather than less likely, ought to puzzle most investors. The stock market's reaction mystifies veteran banking analyst Bert Ely at Ely & Co. in Alexandria, Va. "They're not going to get anything back," he says of any investors who have long-term faith in the mortgage giants' shares.

The chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac each could earn as much as $6 million this year and next, despite huge continued losses at the seized mortgage giants and a government bailout tab of more than $100 billion that the Obama administration said could rise even higher. Fannie Mae Chief Executive Michael Williams will earn a base salary of $900,000 in 2009 and 2010, with a deferred base salary of $3.1 million each year to be paid "only if the enterprise meets performance metrics" set by its board and subject to government review, according to filings Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Obama administration is considering an overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that would strip the mortgage finance giants of hundreds of billions of dollars in troubled loans and create a new structure to support the home loan market, government officials said. The bad debts the firms own would be placed in new government financial institutions -- so-called bad banks -- that would take responsibility for collecting as much of the outstanding balance as possible.

Troubled mortgage financing giant Freddie Mac and its employees were dealt another blow Wednesday when one of the company's top executives was found dead in his Virginia home, an apparent suicide. The death of David Kellermann, 41, the acting chief financial officer, adds more turmoil at Freddie Mac.

Before its portfolio of bad loans helped trigger the housing crisis, mortgage giant Freddie Mac was the focus of a major accounting scandal that led to a management shake-up, huge fines and scalding condemnation of passive directors. One of those board members was Rahm Emanuel, now chief of staff to President Obama. Emanuel earned at least $320,000 for his 14-month stint at Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage finance institution, said Friday that it would allow some borrowers whose houses are in foreclosure to remain in their homes as renters. The new policy's direct effect will be modest. Freddie Mac has only about 8,500 properties in foreclosure, and many are vacant. Nationwide, various estimates place the number of homes in foreclosure at more than 2 million.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage-finance companies under U.S. control, must cut their portfolios to $250 billion each under proposed rules that would make permanent an emergency agreement last year. The largest U.S. sources of home-loan money also would have to reduce their holdings by 10% a year starting at the end of 2010, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said on its website Tuesday.

Mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said Friday that it would need an additional $30 billion to $35 billion in government aid as it copes with losses on loans the company backed during the housing bubble. The company disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Friday that it was expecting its government regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to make the request from the Treasury Department. That comes on top of the $13.

The chief executives at mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac ignored warnings that they were taking on too many risky loans years before the housing market plunged, according to documents released Tuesday by a House of Representatives committee.

Freddie Mac is asking for an initial injection of $13.8 billion in government aid after posting a massive quarterly loss Friday. The mortgage firm is making the first request to tap the $200 billion promised by the Treasury Department to keep it and sibling company Fannie Mae afloat after the two were seized by federal regulators in September. Freddie Mac said it expected to receive the money by Nov. 29. The McLean, Va.-based company posted a loss of $25.3 billion, or $19.