FRE

We all know the deal: Big firms which got government bailouts and haven't paid back the money are supposed to be subject to pay restrictions. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both borrowed tens of billions, and haven't repaid it yet. So how is it that their CEOs will make eye-popping sums for their work in 2009?

I've always been a big fan of the phrase "keep it simple, stupid," which apparently was created by a person who designed spy planes for a living. But keeping it simple is a lot easier to say than do when it comes to Securities & Exchange Commission filings. I know, because I've had to read...

Remember when markets were efficient and self-correcting, the subprime crisis was contained, the U.S. economy was decoupled from the rest of the world -- and all you needed to be Fed chairman was an abiding love of Ayn Rand? If nothing else, the market's movements over the last year -- or ever...

It was a year ago this week that the federal government seized ailing mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). Their collapse, it was feared, could imperil the entire financial system. The takeover wasn't meant to be permanent, but a new congressional report illustrates why...

August is known as a quiet month for the stock market, as many institutional investors and traders take advantage of the waning summer to go on vacation. Trading volume dries up, and some large price swings can be attributed to the lack of liquidity, but this news about the concentrated nature of...

Freddie Mac (FRE) dodged the fate of its mortgage finance stablemate Fannie Mae (FNM) which lost $14.8 billion in the last quarter and said it would need $10.7 billion in immediate federal aid. In the second quarter, the financial firm had net income of 2009 was $768 million. After the dividend...

Back in 2007, veteran banker Eugene McQuade said he was leaving his post as president of mortgage giant Freddie Mac (FRE) because he was frustrated with "onerous" demands by the company's overseers in Washington. Unfortunately, McQuade's new position as CEO of commercial banking operations at...

The following post rounds up the companies making headlines today: Intel (INTC) got the dubious first place today as the EU fined the chip maker 1.06 billion euros ($1.45 billion), more than Microsoft's largest fine on monopoly abuse so far. The EU said Intel used illegal sales tactics to shut out...

The reported suicide of acting Freddie Mac (FRE) Chief Financial Officer David Kellermann puts a human face on the damage the recession has taken on the American psyche. Kellermann, 41, apparently was uneasy about the publicity he got after it was reported that he received an $800,000 bonus from...

The Wall Street Journal reports today that just as the Obama housing rescue plan gets underway, many banks are increasing their number of foreclosures. JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo (WFC), Fannie Mae (FNM), and Freddie Mac (FRE) have all ended their self-imposed moratoriums on foreclosures and are...