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Reuters – Freddie Mac, the second largest provider of U.S. home mortgage funding, on Friday posted its first quarterly profit in two years as gains from hedges and a one-time accounting change offset still-lofty credit losses.
For the first quarter in four, Freddie Mac said it would not need a capital injection from the Treasury to maintain its business of providing credit for U.S. housing. But it continues to rely on the government for survival, it said.
Reuters – Quarterly profit at asset manager Sprott Inc was down by half as some hedge funds were hurt by rallying stock prices, while the company said opportunities still exist on the long side of the market.
Eric Sprott, who is president and chief executive of Sprott Inc and a consummate Bay Street bear, said some hedge funds did not fare well during the quarter due to the "massive rally in the market," and as short positions were hurt by the upswing in stock prices.
A short position is the sale of a borrowed security with the expectation that the asset will fall in value.
Reuters – U.S. President Barack Obama‘s $825 billion stimulus plan cleared its first Congressional hurdle as the Federal Reserve eyed more extreme measures to ease credit market strains, boosting Asian stocks despite deep skepticism that a global slowdown can be reversed quickly.
Signs of corporate distress were still obvious regardless of the passage of Obama’s bill through the House of Representatives, the first big legislative success of his new presidency.
Sony Corp followed fellow Japanese electronics maker Canon Inc with a dismal quarterly profit report on Thursday as the fallout grows from a global crisis which has already cost trillions of dollars and threatens millions of jobs.
