Fannie Mae (FNMA)

Icahn’s Purchase of Millions of Fannie, Freddie Shares Disclosed By Edvard Pettersson     Jun 4, 2014 4:21 AM GMT+0530     -  Carl Icahn  bought 6.8 million Fannie Mae and 5.7 million Freddie Mac shares on March 11, according to a federal court filing in Washington. Fairholme Funds Inc., a mutual fund headed by  Bruce Berkowitz , listed the transaction in a lawsuit against the U.S. over profits from the two companies the government seized during the 2008 financial crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The regulator of government-controlled mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae ( FNMA ) and Freddie Mac ( FMCC ) said on Sunday he would not oppose them having a smaller presence in the market but private capital had to be ready to take over first. Watt said last week, in his first public speech since taking office, that he did not want to shrink Fannie and Freddie's footprint, marking a sharp departure from his predecessor.Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt said the two companies, which own or guarantee about 60 percent of all U.S. home loans, needed to remain in the housing finance market to make sure it was liquid and resilient. "It's not that I'm opposed to it and we will certainly allow it to happen," he told C-SPAN's "Newsmakers" program, when asked about the prospect of shrinking the lenders' activities. "But if the private sector is not ready to step into the space, and you shrink what Fannie and...

Fairholme’s Berkowitz Trims Holdings of Fannie, Freddie By Charles Stein     May 16, 2014 6:24 AM GMT+0800     - Comments   Email   Print ruce Berkowitz , the money manager battling the U.S. government over the future of  Fannie Mae (FNMA)  and Freddie Mac, cut his stakes in the common stock of both U.S.- owned mortgage finance companies in the first quarter. Berkowitz’s Fairholme Capital Management LLC sold 6.8 million shares of Fannie Mae , bringing his holdings to 19.2 million shares with a market value of $74.7 million as of March 31, according to a regulatory filing today. He sold 2.2 million shares of Freddie Mac, cutting his stake to 17.2 million shares with a market value of $66.3 million. Berkowitz’s main investment in the mortgage companies is through their preferred shares, which are more senior to common in the capital structure. Fairholme maintained its preferred shares in both firms, which rose in value during the ...

New Fairholme-Backed Group Rallies to Defend Fannie, Freddie By   NICK TIMIRAOS Bloomberg News Fannie Mae FNMA   +3.68%  and  Freddie Mac FMCC   +2.84%  haven’t been allowed to lobby in Washington since the government took over the two mortgage giants in 2008. And thanks to some of the companies’ deep-pocketed new friends, the companies may not need to anytime soon. Fairholme Capital Management LLC, which has invested massive sums in Fannie and Freddie, has funded a new advocacy group that is running ads defending the mortgage-finance companies amid a bipartisan effort to replace the firms with a new public-private mortgage setup. The group, which calls itself  United for American Homeownership , is the latest  in a string of advocacy groups  lobbying on behalf of Fannie and Freddie’s shareholders. Earlier this month, a group calling itself the Coalition for Mortgage Security  began a pro-Fannie advocacy...

Why Bill Ackman Is Bullish on Fannie, Freddie By   NICK TIMIRAOS   CONNECT Bloomberg News Bill Ackman detailed his bullish bet on  Fannie Mae  and  Freddie Mac . It boils down to this: The companies that were too big to fail are now too important to replace. Mr. Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management disclosed last November that it had taken 10% stakes in the common stock of Fannie and Freddie. On Monday, he spoke in greater detail at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York. on his investment thesis. Fannie and Freddie, whose shares both trade over the counter at around $4, are worth $23 on a conservative basis, he said, and could be worth as much as $47. Here are a few frequently asked questions: Doesn’t the government own Fannie and Freddie?  It’s complicated, but the answer is no. The U.S. took over the companies in 2008 through a legal process known as conservatorship. The firms’ common and preferred shares pl...

Why Bill Ackman Is Bullish on Fannie, Freddie By   NICK TIMIRAOS   CONNECT Bloomberg News Bill Ackman detailed his bullish bet on  Fannie Mae FNMA +3.02%  and  Freddie Mac FMCC +6.28% . It boils down to this:  The companies that were too big to fail are now too important to replace. Mr. Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management disclosed last November that it had taken 10% stakes in the common stock of Fannie and Freddie. On Monday, he spoke in greater detail at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York. on his investment thesis. Fannie and Freddie,  whose shares both trade over the counter at around $4, are worth $23 on a conservative basis, he said, and could be worth as much as $47. Here are a few frequently asked questions: Doesn’t the government own Fannie and Freddie?  It’s complicated, but the answer is no. The U.S. took over the companies in 2008 through a legal process known as conservatorship....