GSE Shares Tumble Again

The Federal government's proposal to provide support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has so far failed to stop the blood-letting for shareholders in the two firms. The Federal government's proposal to provide support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has so far failed to stop the blood-letting for shareholders in the two firms. At the close of trading on Tuesday, Fannie Mae's shares were trading at $7.07, down 27% from their opening. Freddie Mac's shares were trading around $5.26, down 26%. Moody's Investors Service lowered key preferred stock and financial strength ratings on the firms. Other financials also fell after Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke warned Congress that the economy faces "numerous difficulties," including the risk of higher inflation. The Dow industrial average was off 45 points, or about 0.4%, just after noon after recovering from a fall of nearly 200 points in earlier trading.