news bulletin – answers

U.S. acts to rescue mortgage firms

true/false

1. The US treasury is letting the 2 finance giants solve their own problems. F: it has moved quickly to ‘shore then up’ – help them keep going
2. The two organisations have run out of money. F: there were fears that they might run out
3. The US housing market is experiencing its biggest slump ever. F: biggest since the depression of the 1930s
4. Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac are large financial institutions. T
5. The 2 companies are owned by the government. F: they are ‘shareholder owned’
6. The Federal Reserve has not lent emergency funds since the Depression. F: it has done this once before – ‘only the second time since the Depression
7. These measures are only going to help for a little while. T: possibly a ‘short-term fix’
8. The companies buy mortgages for the banks. F: they buy them from the banks
9. Together they manage over $3 trillion. T
10. Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac are the names of their founders. F: they are ‘nicknames’ for the institutions