Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac floundering

It’s been one roller coaster of a financial week. The stock value of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the largest issuers of mortgage loans to most middle-class Americans — has lost 80 percent of its value over the last several weeks, plunging to 17-year lows.

Senior Washington officials are trying to reassure investors that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sufficient capital to continue financing America’s loans.

This is the just the latest addition to strong currents running through the global economy. "The Takeaway’s" John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji get the details from Gretchen Morgenson, assistant business and financial editor at the "New York Times."

According to Morgenson, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are crucial to the mortgage lending industry — they finance a lot of home mortgages, and have almost six trillion dollars in mortgages that they are either guaranteeing or financing. We are having one roller coaster of a financial week. The stock value of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — the largest issuers of mortgage loans to most middle-class Americans — has lost 80 percent of its value over the last several weeks, plunging to 17-year lows.

Senior Washington officials are trying to reassure investors that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have sufficient capital to continue financing America’s loans.

This the just the latest addition to strong currents running through the global economy.

"The Takeaway’s" John Hockenberry and Adaora Udoji talk to Gretchen Morgenson of the "New York Times."

According to Morgenson, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are crucial to the mortgage lending industry — they finance a lot of home mortgages, and have almost six trillion dollars in mortgages that they are either guaranteeing or financing.

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