Wenn die Sau durchs Dorf getrieben wird

muss man kaufen:

Countrywide Financial denies bankruptcy
9th January 2008, 6:29 WST

Countrywide Financial has denied market speculation it might seek bankruptcy protection, after shares of the largest US mortgage lender slid to their lowest level in nearly eight years.

"There is no substance to the rumour that Countrywide is planning to file for bankruptcy, and we are not aware of any basis for the rumour that any of the major rating agencies are contemplating negative action relative to the company," Countrywide said in a statement.

Countrywide shares pared earlier losses following the statement. In afternoon trading, the stock was down $1.05, or 13.7 per cent, at $6.59 on the New York Stock Exchange. It had earlier fallen nearly 25 per cent to $5.76, its lowest level since March 2000.

Like many US mortgage lenders, Countrywide has struggled with the nation's housing slump.

Borrower defaults have soared as falling home prices and tighter credit markets led it stop making many of its more profitable home loans.

The refusal of many investors to buy all but the safest mortgage has led to write-downs of loans on its books.

On Oct. 26, Calabasas, California-based Countrywide posted a $US1.2 billion ($A1.38 billion) third-quarter loss, but said it expected to be profitable in the fourth quarter.

Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo said at the time he also expected Countrywide to survive the credit crunch. Mozilo co-founded Countrywide in 1969.

Bank of America Corp injected $US2 billion ($A2.3 billion) into Countrywide last August. Countrywide later set plans to lay off as many as 12,000 employees, or one-fifth of its workforce.

Countrywide is expected to disclose December mortgage lending activity as soon as Friday, and to report fourth-quarter results later this month.

REUTERS

donnern. :)

Mudd's comments came the same day as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the administration was exploring a possible expansion of the program to include stronger borrowers. Such an expanded plan to cover homeowners with conventional mortgages would more directly affect Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which have a relatively small exposure to high-priced subprime mortgages but stand behind hundreds of billions of dollars of conventional loans.

Shares of Fannie and Freddie slumped Tuesday as Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation's largest mortgage lender, released a statement denying rumors that it would soon file for bankruptcy.

Fannie Mae's stock fell $2.60, or 7.6 percent, to $31.63, while Freddie Mac shares declined by $2.40, or 8.2 percent, to $26.76. Both Fannie and Freddie are major buyers of loans made by Countrywide.

Smaller drops were seen among other lenders such as Wells Fargo & Co. and Bank of America Corp., while shares of Countrywide fell $2.17, or 28.4 percent, to $5.47.

Mudd said in his speech that the Bush mortgage rate-freeze plan was "an important step," but he also warned that "altering basic contracts would have a high price," in particular by breaching the legal rights of the investors holding mortgage-backed securities.

"Investors left with the losses would not easily return to the market," Mudd said. "That inevitably would shrink the pool of credit."

Meanwhile, Mudd told the business audience that the health of corporate America this year will depend on "how we get through the toughest housing correction in our lifetimes."

He reaffirmed the prediction made recently by Fannie Mae that American home prices will fall by 10 percent to 12 percent from their 2005 peak before the housing market can rebound, likely in 2010.

Fallout from the slump has forced Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to set aside billions of extra dollars to account for bad home loans, eroding their profits at a time when home prices are falling and foreclosures are spiking on high-risk mortgages made to borrowers with weak credit histories.

Last month, the two companies sliced their dividends and sold billions of dollars of special stock to raise capital and shore up their finances.

Der CEO vekauft ständig Aktien. ;-)

Jetzt weiß ich an wen. ;-)

erhohen soll, obwohl die schon wesentlich höher ist als die Statistik ausweist (weil z.B. das Investieren in das selbstgenutzten Wohnen in den USA als Konsum zählt, während es bei uns Sparrate einfließt), und jetzt kaufen sie ein paar Häuser weniger und erhöhen die Sparquote. Und auch das soll jetzt falsch sein?

Dem Weltuntergang kann man aber auch wirklich nichts recht macht, nicht einmal eine gesunde Umsstrukturierung - der Abbau von Hauskapazitäten und der massive Aufbau von Exportkapazitäten - gefällt ihnen. Noch nie etwas von Strukturwandel gehört?

Zur Abferderung der Übergangs ist die Schaffung von Einkommen bei Niedrigverdienern über Maßnahmen des Staates, die parteiübergreifend in den USA jetzt diskutiert wird, die adäquate Lösung. Glückliches Amerika, kann man da nur sagen - bei uns würden Westerwellchen und die Armada der zweitklassigen deutschen Wirtschaftsmikroprofessoren daraus eine Geschichte von Freiheit oder Sozialismus basteln.