Freddie Mac

The host committee for the Republican National Convention raised $57 million from corporations and wealthy individuals to put on the lavish four-day gala in St. Paul. What do these special interests expect in return?

Remember the second questioner from the second presidential debate? His name was Oliver Clark. Remember how John McCain answered Clark’s bailout question? He said lots of things, but you’ll remember this zinger: “The match that lit this fire was Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. I’ll betcha you may never have even heard of them before [...]

This week has been all about history-changing events: Washington is asking for the biggest bailout for Wall Street ever; a presidential candidate “suspended” his campaign because he’s too busy campaigning via TV interviews; and now, after the implosions of Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Lehman Brothers, and Merrill Lynch, Washington Mutual enters the [...]

A nation of whiners? Or a seriously decimated economy? The nation’s leading economists say it’s the latter, and the already crumbling financial sector is due for a series of crippling aftershocks that could last well into the next decade. Once-leading lenders Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Merrill, Lehman, and AIG have perished in only seven days, all on the heels of the IndyMac collapse and $29 billion Bear Stearns bailout. And experts say more lenders are expected to fall in the near future, some even this week.