Freddie Reports Quarterly Loss

As evidence that the housing market crisis is not over, Freddie Mac reported a loss for the first quarter of 2008 of $151 million (66 cents per share), compared with a loss of $133 million (35 cents per share) for the first quarter of 2007.  Freddie reported $1.45 billion of credit-related expenses in the quarter.  Its estimated asset value was negative $5.2 billion on March 31, compared with a positive $12.6 billion on December 31.  The March estimated loss would have been about $4.6 billion more, except for changes in valuation methods.  Freddie said it planned to raise an additional $5.5 billion in capital through sales of common and preferred shares, a commitment it made to its regulator.  WPost, Freddie's Quarterly Loss Widens.