Trying to Keep Bush's Head above Water until after January 20th
Fannie, Freddie Shares Plunge as Unease Rises Talk of Federal Bailout Sparks Sell-Off
By David S. Hilzenrath and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum Washington Post Staff Writers Friday, July 11, 2008; A01
Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two pillars of the nation's housing market, continued to plummet yesterday as investors and federal officials contemplated the possibility that the giants of the mortgage business could require a federal bailout.
On Capitol Hill, the Treasury secretary offered reassurance that they are still on firm footing, and the Senate moved on a housing relief bill that would give a regulator more power over them. . . . Yesterday's sell-off came against the backdrop of jarring news reports. Bloomberg News quoted William Poole, former president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, saying that the two companies were already insolvent.
_______________________________________________________________ And so we revisit the modern-day Herbert Hoover, with the s…