FNM Fannie Mae announces Government rejects easing limits (66.46 +0.53) -Update- The government on Friday said it will not ease investment limits on home-loan finance giants FNM and Freddie Mac (FRE). The companies had argued that allowing them to take on more debt would help pump cash into the struggling mortgage market. The announcement by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight came at the end of a week of speculation that the regulators would allow the government-sponsored companies a wider investment berth. The companies' shares had soared on Wall Street in an otherwise skidding market. OFHEO Director James B. Lockhart said the risk of allowing the two companies to take on more debt was too great. Combined, FNM and FRE hold or guarantee two-thirds of all U.S. home mortgages. "Their safety and soundness is of paramount importance," Lockhart said.