Mortgage giants pose risk to U.S. taxpayers, Greenspan says - 2004-02-25
Alan Greenspan, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, has warned that the two big U.S. government-sponsored mortgage institutions could be a "systemic risk" that could cost taxpayers a lot of money in the future.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which purchase and repackage billions of dollars' worth of mortgages every year, had grown so rapidly and accumulated so much debt that they could not adequately hedge against the risks of financial crises.
Read the full story at IHT

Jan. existing home sales drop more than expected - 2004-02-25
Sales of existing homes dropped 5.2% in January, as housing activity cooled down after hitting record levels in 2003, a report by the National Association of Realtors showed Wednesday.

Existing home sales rocketed to a record 6.1 million for all 2003 as mortgage interest rates hovered near lows not seen since the early 1960s.
Read the full story at USA Today