S&P 500
7,226.20
+0.01%
Dow Jones
49,494.60
-0.62%
Nasdaq 100
27,685.40
+0.66%
Russell 2000
2,804.78
-0.02%
FTSE 100
10,364.50
0.00%
Nikkei 225
59,260.50
-0.78%

Investing

Geithner And The Odd Sovereign Debt Confusion

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Published
Follow 24/7 Wall St. on Google
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner for some reason found it necessary to explain to a member of Congress that the debt obligations of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) were not sovereign obligations of the US government. It was a puzzling comment because there has been no assumption in the market that Fannie and Freddie enjoyed such a vaunted status.

In a letter to Rep. Scott Garrett, Geithner wrote that the government’s  obligations to the two firms “is crucial in helping to stabilize the housing market and the overall economy.” That commitment is obvious as well because a withdrawal of support at this juncture would would almost certainly cause the collapse of Fannie and Freddie which in turn would throw the mortgage markets into turmoil.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

Continue Reading

US Need for Housing Market Backstop Drives Fannie Mae Stock
Paul Ausick |

US Need for Housing Market Backstop Drives Fannie Mae Stock

Investors are worried that pressure on the balance sheet of Fannie Mae and delay its exit from conservatorship. Yet, some…
Jon C. Ogg |

Reality Check: Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac Go To Zero (FNM, FRE)

If you have watched Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) and Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), you know what has gone on.  These…
Paul Ausick |

S&P Cautious on Plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was established in 2008 to mitigate the losses that would be suffered by US…
Jon C. Ogg |

Should Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Really Be AAA Rated?

Fitch has announced that it has affirmed the AAA ratings for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on the Long-Term Issuer…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

The Further Weakening Of Housing

Mortgage rates hit their 2010 low on April 13 at 4.93%. At the same time, RealtyTrac announced that homes which…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Saving Fannie Mae (FNM) And Freddie Mac (FRE) Shareholders

A share of Fannie Mae (FNM) goes for $6. Freddie Mac’s (FRE) shares are at just above $4. The market…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

The Housing Aid Debate Goes On As Rome Burns

Secretary of the Treasury Tim Geithner says that the the US must keep a role in the housing market recovery…
Douglas A. McIntyre |

Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Bailouts Could Cost $1 Trillion

The cost of the bailouts of Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM) could rise as high as $1…
Paul Ausick |

FHFA Chief Says ‘No’ to Principal Reductions

The acting chief of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), the regulator that oversees both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,…

Top Gaining Stocks

Cboe Global Markets
CBOE • Vol: 1,568,143
New Pluto Global
PSKY • Vol: 12,285,993
Seagate Technology
STX • Vol: 7,378,346
Oracle
ORCL • Vol: 26,317,675
Datadog
DDOG • Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ • Vol: 4,367,433
Clorox
CLX • Vol: 13,260,523
Stryker
SYK • Vol: 4,519,455
Mohawk Industries
MHK • Vol: 1,859,865
Amgen
AMGN • Vol: 3,818,618