WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve and the Treasury announced steps
Sunday to shore up mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose
shares have plunged as losses from their mortgage holdings threatened
their financial survival.

Secretary Henry Paulson said the Treasury is seeking expedited
authority from Congress to expand its current $2.25 billion line of
credit to each company should they need to tap it and to make an
equity investment in the companies — if needed.

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a central role in our housing finance
system and must continue to do so in their current form as shareholder-
owned companies," Paulson said Sunday. "Their support for the housing
market is particularly important as we work through the current
housing correction." LMAO!!! "correction" my ass.

The Dow Jones industrials on Friday briefly fell below 11,000 for the
first time in two years and Johnson expects shares of investment banks
and regional banks could fall even lower as investors react to this
weekend's developments.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac either hold or back $5.3 trillion of
mortgage debt. That's about half the outstanding mortgages in the
United States.

Shares of Fannie Mae plunged 45 percent last week and are down 74
percent since the beginning of the year. Freddie Mac shares fell 47
percent last week, and have fallen 77 percent so far this year.

Is that Don Meredith I hear singing "turn out the lights the party's
over"...