Fannie Mae seeks less fed aid
Fannie Mae is asking for less money from the government, a sign that the cost to taxpayers for bailing out the mortgage giant could be billions lower than once thought.
The government-controlled mortgage buyer said Thursday it has now set aside enough money to cover the majority of losses stemming from bad loans made from 2005 through 2008.
It requested $1.5 billion in additional taxpayer aid after posting the best quarterly results since the company was put under federal control in September 2008. It was the smallest quarterly request since November 2008.
Analysts, however, cautioned that the company’s financial picture could still weaken. Anthony Sanders, a finance professor at George Mason University, said the numbers are artificially low because of the slow pace of the foreclosure process.
Fannie Mae said it lost $3.13 billion, or 55 cents per share, in the April-to-June period. The company’s losses take into account $1.9 billion in dividends paid to the Treasury Department. They compare with a loss of $15.2 billion, or $2.67 a share, in the quarter a year ago.
In other reports Thursday:
• Kraft Foods’ second-quarter net income grew 13.3 percent, and its revenue rose 25.3 percent to $12.3 billion, largely because it bought British candy maker Cadbury. The company now expects its full-year organic net revenue to grow between 3 percent and 4 percent, down from an earlier forecast of at least 4 percent.
• Time Warner Cable Inc. reported net income of $342 million, or 95 cents per share, in the second quarter. That’s 8 percent higher than the $316 million, or 89 cents per share, a year earlier.
• DirecTV Inc. reported a 33 percent increase in second-quarter net income, to $543 million, or 42 cents per share. DirecTV added 100,000 net U.S. subscribers in the quarter. It remains one of the few subscription TV providers that is adding video customers.