The bulls, while at a somewhat measured pace, were running Wednesday due to
a mix of positive news within the financial services sector as well as
another day of oil price declines. Crude oil fell for a second straight
session, settling down $3.98 to $124.44 per barrel, and the Dow Jones
Industrial Average responded with a 29.88 point gain to close at
11,632.38 on Wednesday.
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Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac shareholders got a little help from their friends on the hill Wednesday as the House of Representatives passed, as part of a larger housing bill, a rescue package for the two government-sponsored mortgage securitization giants. Fannie shares jumped 11.86% to close at $15 on the news, and Freddie ticked up 11.34% to close at $10.80.
Regional bank asset management businesses for sale, who's buying? National City Corp., Fifth Third Bancorp and KeyCorp may consider selling their asset management units, according to a Wednesday Wall Street Journal report. National City's shares saw the most optimistic response of the trio, gaining 7.78% to close at $4.71. KeyCorp inched up 1% to close at $12.11. Fifth Third lost 2.01% to close at $14.65 as its largest shareholder, Cincinnati Financial Corp., announced the sale of slightly more than half of its Fifth Third stake for about $480 million. The transaction is expected to generate total proceeds of approximately $480 million, after the bank's declining share price hurt the insurer's earnings. - Michael Rudnick
