Over the past 24 hours there has been a tremendous amount of variant speculation and some very thoughtful journalism being proffered as to the status and potential fate of both Fannie and Freddie. 

Here are several articles and posts that we’d suggest you scan today to at least cover what some bright and considerate folks are thinking and talking about the issue. 

Yesterday Kate Benner wrote in Fortune a sobering piece titled “The Fannie and Freddie Doomsday Scenario”; she’s correct in noting that it’s been a brutal week for both GSEs, though stock price devaluations are by no means the only thing that has triggered discussion of the potential failure scenario.

On Tuesday Mish Shedlock wrote on his Global Economic Analysis blog a thoughtful and critical analysis of the GSEs and some credible rationale for their dissolution. 

Seeking Alpha has two interesting articles today addressing the issue – “Saving Fannie and Freddie” (Felix Salmon), and “Fannie and Freddie:  When the GSEs Go, So Goes the Dollar (anonymous author). 

Barry Ritholtz over on The Big Picture has a very well written synopsis of Bloomberg’s coverage of  William Poole’s comments (former St. Louis Fed President) on the issue.  Barry’s no GSE fan by the looks of things. 

Finally, the WSJ’s lead / top of the fold article today is “US Mulls Future of Fannie, Freddie” by Hagerty, Solomon, and Paletta. 

I know, it’s a lot of links, but this is a monstrous issue, with political overtones this election year (unfortunately), and the status of the GSEs affects both single family and multifamily investors.  We all need to stay on top of this one….

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