Rumor And The Death Of Fannie Mae (FNM)

The sky has fallen on Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). At least that is the rumor. True or not, shareholders are paying a price after hours. Fannie Mae is down 15%.

Whether the stock should be down at all is anyone’s guess.

The news from The Wall Street Journal was terribly thin.

WSJ.com reports that "The Treasury Department is close to finalizing a plan to help shore up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." It adds "Precise details of Treasury’s plan couldn’t be learned."

Another way to put that is that no details are available and the intentions of the Treasury may not be known at all.

Fannie and Freddie has both doubled from their recent lows. The stocks may give all of that back on Monday, and perhaps more.

Or, the rumor could be wrong

Douglas A. McIntyre