I’ve been watching the market most of the day and other than oil dropping below $116 to close at $115.20, I don’t see any real solid reason for the DOW to jump 300 points. I’m not sure if it will really hold at this level (11,728). Don’t be surprised if the markets open down on Monday.
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Fannie Mae posted their earnings today. They said that they lost $2.54 a share in the last quarter which like Freddie Mac was three times the expected of what the street thought. Expenses from foreclosed properties and credit losses totaled $5.3 billion (yes, that’s a B).
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Fannie Mac also followed Freddie in cutting their dividends to 5 cents a share from where they were at 35 cents the previous quarter. They said that the decision will save $1.9 billion over the the next year. Needless to say that Fannie Mae is down over 9% today.
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As for the rest of the financials, they are in good shape today most of them are up about 3% or better. MBIA posted a profit today of $1.7 billion when they reported their earnings for the second quarter. That number comes after factoring in the $3.3 billion in pretax derivatives gains (I guess they back the right horse there).
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The dollar was gaining strength today. It gained over 1% against the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar as well as the Swiss franc. The dollar was up .5% on the yen. Most foreign market are down in today’s trading especially in Russia where word of fighting between them and Georgian forces broke out wherethe locals want to form their own republic.
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