The Sector Where the Energy Is

Could Fannie Mae (and Freddie Mac) be trying to make lemonade while shareholders pucker? (By Manuel Balce Ceneta -- Associated Press)

The coalition emerged from a letter signed last month by 76 trade associations, including the National Association of Wholesaler- Distributors, the National Retail Federation, the Association for Hose and Accessories Distribution, and the Wholesale Florist & Florist Supplier Association.

Members of the groups' steering committee have to pay $5,000. General members can join free. What a deal!

Good Bad Luck?

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored but stockholder-owned funders of home mortgages, have had a rough week. Their stock prices have been pummeled for weeks, and over the weekend government officials had to offer to help them out if things get much worse.

But the bad news could turn out to be good news for the two mortgage giants on the legislative front. At least that's what they privately hope.

Congressional sources say Fannie and Freddie have been using their tough times to lobby for provisions in pending housing legislation that are more to their liking.

In particular, the companies have been using the craziness in the market, in effect, to press for the House-passed version of a provision in the bill that regulates the types of assets they can buy for their own portfolios, officials said.

The companies complain that the Senate version would give the new regulator too much latitude to decide what the firms can and cannot hold for themselves.

The House version, in contrast, would lay out clearly what the regulator must consider and specifically reiterates that buying mortgages for their portfolios, as well as securitizing them, can be seen as advancing the companies' central mission of helping Americans buy homes.

Not everyone thinks Congress will show sympathy for Fannie and Freddie just because they're having a rough time. "Ridiculous," said Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. "That's not what's happening."

Oh, well -- it was a thought.

Rob Walker Speaks

"I don't think that I could have found a better home."

Those words may not sound like much, but they are in fact extraordinary. The reason: They were uttered by a person whom official Washington has been waiting to hear from for more than a decade.