Our Loss Is BlackRock’s Gain

Robert Scheer / Truthdig May 20, 2009 How much do you know about BlackRock and the hedge funds they manage? Better bone up fast, now that the folks at BlackRock are calling the shots in the government’s trillion-dollar bailout program. BlackRock execs are now directing key elements of the government program at a time when they stand to reap great profits from the fallout of a problem they helped create. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Freddie Mac’s Acting CFO Found Dead

Staff / Truthdig Apr 22, 2009 The acting chief financial officer for housing lender Freddie Mac, David Kellermann, was found dead Wednesday morning in what appeared to be a suicide. If the death is ruled a suicide, Kellermann will be the seventh high-profile financial services executive to have taken his own life under stress from the current economic crisis. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fed Faces Mortgage Challenge

Staff / Truthdig Nov 26, 2008 The mortgage market got a lift following Tuesday's announcement that the Federal Reserve was throwing in with a $600 billion resuscitation bid, but as Fortune's Colin Barr points out, history offers at least two examples that the road ahead could be rocky. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Fannie, Freddie to Give Foreclosures a Holiday

Staff / Truthdig Nov 21, 2008 Starting on Nov. 26, mortgage finance mega-firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will take a time out from foreclosures and evictions until Jan. 9 -- a welcome holiday break for struggling homeowners that hopefully will catch on among other corporate players in the mortgage market. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Finding a Way Out After the Bailout

Titus Levi / Truthdig Oct 16, 2008 Wall Street has yet to recover after the economic shocks of recent weeks. Why? Two problems. One we already know: The “plan,” even with revisions, is deeply flawed. The second problem has not been mentioned all that much because it’s pretty scary: Put simply, we have no idea what we’re doing. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

McCain Calls for End to Big Business Bailouts

Staff / Truthdig Sep 20, 2008 And now, this latest dispatch from the U.S. Department of Unintentional Irony: Sen. John McCain spoke out against the Federal Reserve's recent bids to give life support (read: gigantic amounts of money) to failing financial institutions. Isn't he the same guy who has looked to Phil Gramm for economic advice? Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Economic Meltdown: Don’t Say We Weren’t Forewarned

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Sep 19, 2008 Has the war on terrorism become the modern equivalent of the Roman Circus, drawing the people’s attention away from the failures of those who rule them? Corporate America is a shambles because deregulation, the mantra of our president and his party, has proved to be a license to steal. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

‘Left, Right & Center’: Fannie and Freddie, Sarah and Charlie

Staff / Truthdig Sep 14, 2008 On Friday's episode of "Left, Right & Center," show regulars Matt Miller, Robert Scheer and Tony Blankley weigh in about the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac crisis, the fate of Lehman Brothers and Republican VP nominee Sarah Palin's one-on-one with ABC's Charlie Gibson. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

She’s Clueless, He’s Worse

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Sep 10, 2008 Ignorance is bliss, which perhaps explains Gov. Sarah Palin being so confidently wrong about the root cause of the federalization of most of the nation's mortgage market. But what is Sen. John McCain's excuse? Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Fannie and Freddie’s Double Whammy

Bill Boyarsky / Truthdig Sep 9, 2008 With a stunningly vicious pair of blows, the faltering world economy -- the Godzilla of this year's presidential race -- has made the candidates look small. Why hasn't this looming crisis been part of the presidential debate? Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Markets Respond to Fannie, Freddie Takeover

Staff / Truthdig Sep 9, 2008 Investors have been throwing money at stock markets the world over following the news that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been placed under federal conservatorship. Some analysts are confident that the move will stabilize the mortgage giants and, in turn, a tanking housing market. With hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars on the line, let's hope they're right. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bailout Time for Fannie and Freddie

Staff / Truthdig Jul 29, 2008 Congress to the rescue! Mortgage lending giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are being propped up in their time of dire need, thanks to a bill passed Saturday that will lift the world's two largest financial institutions out of immediate danger and help some homeowners handle mortgage crises. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )