DAILY BRIEFING :Tuesday, September 30, 2008

DAILY BRIEFING
Tuesday, September 30, 2008


FEDERAL AID

NAR issued a statement saying it is "extremely disappointed in the actions of the U.S. House of Representatives" in not passing the $700 billion bailout package yesterday.

FANNIE MAE AND FREDDIE MAC

Adding to their woes, mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are now also facing a federal grand jury investigation into their accounting practices and corporate governance issues.

MORTGAGES

A number of small community banks are unexpected victims of the mortgage meltdown, despite their conservative lending practices. Many invested in the "safe" preferred stock of mortgage behemoths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the recent U.S. government takeover is expected to make those stocks worthless.

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved moderately in August, also posted a slight gain in September to 59.8. The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center Director Lynn Franco attributed this month's increase to an improvement in the short-term outlook, adding, "These results did not capture all of the tumultuous events in the financial sector this month, and until the dust settles a bit more, we will not know the full impact on consumers' expectations."

MORTGAGE MELTDOWN

News stories may point to Wall Street as the culprit behind the mortgage meltdown, but the mess all began with a lot of bad mortgages made by consumers who never came within a hundred miles of New York. And these toxic mortgages are continuing to unwind.