The business stories that matter, by Fortune's Colin Barr
Type Size  -  +
December 17, 2007, 1:16 pm

Freddie Mac follies

Freddie Mac (FRE) is trying some damage control. With a wave of foreclosures sweeping American neighborhoods, the government-backed mortgage investor is reaching out to struggling homeowners. The company recently posted a video on YouTube showing how to avoid foreclosure scams, the Washington Post reports. Freddie says it’s trying to flag schemes in which thugs lure borrowers to sign away their home equity.

The move comes as a difficult year at Freddie nears a close. The company’s shares have lost half their value in 2007, as the decline of the housing market has saddled the company with big losses on souring mortgages. Last week, CEO Richard Syron predicted Freddie will repeat its $2 billion third-quarter loss in the fourth quarter.

Billions of dollars in coming credit losses aside, however, the company’s future “looks better and better,” he told investors at a Goldman Sachs conference. Indeed, Freddie’s outlook is so glossy that this weekend the company sprang for what one correspondent terms “a decadent holiday party,” according to Barry Ritholtz. As if shareholders haven’t paid for enough Freddie follies already.
 

CNNMoney.com Comment Policy: CNNMoney.com encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. Please note that CNNMoney.com may edit comments for clarity or to keep out questionable or off-topic material. All comments should be relevant to the post and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNNMoney.com the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying information via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNNMoney.com Privacy Statement.
Colin Barr covers business and finance for Fortune.com. Previously he was an editor at TheStreet.com and author of the weekly Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street column, and an editor at Dow Jones Newswires.
Subscribe to Daily Briefing: RSS feed | email newsletter
* : Time reflects local markets trading time.† - Intraday data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges.• Disclaimer
Powered by WordPress.com.