A new analysis attacked the legal fees involved in the government takeover of Fannie Mae. A number of contracts the mortgage organization had should simply have been voided, the author of the critical report said. Fannie is No.1 on today’s index of negative news.
Freddie Mac, the quasi-twin of Fannie Mae, stayed near the top of the list. The government may eventually dissolve both firms. Chevron remained in the top three. A large legal judgement against the company is still pending.
Note: The Flame Index scans thousands of news sites 24 hours per day and ranks companies getting the most negative press right now. The Flame Index Media Analysis Algorithm crunches the data for an up-to-the-minute ranking of the hardest-hit companies.
The Flame Index started as a research tool in 2008 at the NY Innovation Design Lab (nyidlab). It was used as a general metric to evaluate companies and their risk in the media. Publicly-traded Fortune 500 companies are used as a measure to calculate an overall market of negative news and the companies are ranked within that market.
-Douglas A. McIntyre
| Rank | Company | Ticker | Score | Change in Rank | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fannie Mae | FNMAS | 59.304 | +1 | Dying mortgage company could have avoided large legal fees |
| 2 | Chevron | CVX | 45.556 | -1 | Lawsuit in Ecuador threatens oil firm’s earnings |
| 3 | Freddie Mac | FMCKJ | 33.086 | 0 | Mortgage firm could still be shuttered by Congress |
| 4 | Dish Network | DISH | 27.789 | 0 | Deal with Hughes Communications beset by legal challenges |
| 5 | Ford Motor | F | 24.579 | +1 | Concerns about sales in China and unemployment in US weigh. |
| 6 | Goldman Sachs Group | GS | 22.666 | +181 | Bank may close proprietary trading desk, which has been very profitable |
| 7 | Genzyme | GENZ | 21.924 | +29 | Buyout by Sanofi Aventis is not at favorable price |
| 8 | Wal-Mart Stores | WMT | 21.494 | 0 | Still hurt by Wall St. downgrade of future earnings |
| 9 | Borders Group | BGP | 20.348 | -4 | Chapter 11 filed today |
| 10 | Toyota Motor Corporation | TM | 19.93 | -1 | Recall liabilities exist despite government proof some defects not cause by company |
Data and ranking provided by the Flame Index.
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