Fannie Mae & Freedie Mac sink markets

Markets plunge again, this is getting to be a familiar story. Dow is down 196, decliners over advancers 4-1 & NAZ is down 38. Markets are very nervous about a cloudy future for Fannie Mae (FNM) & Freddie Mac (FRE) as their stocks are approaching zero. This is not what unsettled credit markets want to hear. Stories about FNM & FRE are abundant, here is another one. Oil reaches another record at 147, back to the sky's the limit for oil.

General Electric (GE) profits slipped a penny per share, but met lowered expectations good enough for a 23¢ gain. Citigroup (C) is selling their German business for almost $8B. The main company story revolves around increasing worries about the future for Lehman (LEH). Since the credit crunch began a year ago, they have been operating under a dark & darker cloud as the chart below shows (note very heavy volume in the last few months):





They are one of the largest investment houses, but the stock is selling at a 9 year low! In the middle of trying to sort out how to keep FNM & FRE alive & well, bailing out LEH, if necessary, will have to share center stage. These are worries markets don't need or appreciate today.