Jim rogers say Fannie is f*cked

Discussion in 'Wall St. News' started by alientrader, Nov 21, 2007.

  1. Freddie, Fannie Shares Will Continue to Slide, Jim Rogers Says

    By Jeff Kearns and Brian Sullivan

    Nov. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Freddie Mac, which today dropped the most ever after posting a record loss, and rival mortgage lender Fannie Mae will continue to tumble because of bad home loans, investor Jim Rogers said.

    ``I'm still short those companies, they both have a long way to go as far as I'm concerned,'' Rogers said in an interview. ``Neither one has a clue what's on their balance sheets.''

    Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage company, warned of a possible cut in the dividend and the need for additional capital. The worst housing slump in 16 years caused ``significant deterioration'' in the third quarter that will continue through year-end, Freddie Mac said after reporting a net loss of $2.02 billion, or $3.29 a share, three times what some analysts estimated.

    Fannie Mae spokesman Brian Faith declined to comment on Rogers. Freddie Mac spokesman Michael Cosgrove didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

    Rogers, chairman of New York-based Beeland Interests Inc., also said he is still shorting shares of investment banks and Citigroup Inc., the largest U.S. bank by assets.

    ``There are huge numbers of writedowns still coming,'' Rogers said.

    Rogers, who predicted the start of the global commodities rally in 1999, advised in a Nov. 5 interview with Bloomberg that investors should avoid financial stocks. In March 2006, he said Fannie Mae shares would decline.

    Financial stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index have tumbled 22 percent this year, the most among 10 industries. The index fell 2.9 percent to 384.50, the lowest since October 2005, as of 1:13 p.m. in New York.

    Rogers co-founded the Quantum Hedge Fund with George Soros in the 1970s. He traveled the world by motorcycle and car in the 1990s researching investment ideas for his books, which include ``Adventure Capitalist'' and ``Hot Commodities.''
     
  2. Rogers called it. Again.