What We're Hearing

With tech stocks getting clobbered of late and the "dot-com" bubble a somewhat distant (or is it, not-so-distant?) memory, an old news nugget popped into my head concerning Fannie Mae. Before Frank Raines got the gate as CEO he was contemplating legally changing the GSE's name to FannieMae.com. I'm not sure, but I may've heard a similar rumor about Countrywide. The two mortgage companies (as we all know) were once joined at the hip in a classic 'junkie-dealer' relationship. For many years Countrywide was the largest seller of loans to Fannie, garnering huge discounts on guarantee fees assessed by the GSE. Anyway, that's all history, but keep in mind this one thought: I would venture that today, many of Fannie's most delinquent loans can be traced to Countrywide, especially those of the 'alt-A' variety...