Fannie Mae reported a staggering $72 billion net loss for 2009, underscoring the challenges that still face the nation’s largest mortgage financier and offering more grim news for taxpayers who may ultimately pick up the bill.

The Washington-based company posted a $15.2 billion fourth-quarter loss and said it asked the U.S. Treasury for another $15.3 billion… »

Improved readings of gross domestic product and purchasing managers activity fueled a slight gain in stocks, capping the best month for the market since November.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.23 points to 10325.26. It finished up 2.6% for the month, its best performance since a 6.5% gain in November…. »

Greece prepared additional austerity measures Friday and its prime minister met with the head of Germany’s top bank, as the country raced to soothe international concerns over its debt crisis ahead of a crucial bond sale it may hold next week.

Prime Minister George Papandreou met Deutsche Bank AG chief executive Josef Ackermann on Friday, the… »

The quake, registered at magnitude 8.8 on the Richter scale, caused buildings and bridges to collapse and led to power-black outs in parts of the Chilean capital, Santiago, 200 miles from the epicentre.

Chile’s President Michele Bachelet declares “state of catastrophe” following earthquake…. »

Pedro Villagra, Argentina’s ambassador to Australia, made the threat as the diplomatic row over the start of drilling continued to escalate.

His intervention came as oil prices in the US headed towards $79 a barrel and the International Energy Agency suggested economic uncertainties were likely to peg increases…. »

Mr Dimon told investors at the Wall Street bank’s annual meeting that “there could be contagion” if a state the size of California, the biggest of the United States, had problems making debt repayments. “Greece itself would not be an issue for this company, nor would any other country,” said Mr Dimon. “We don’t really… »

ArcelorMittal gets no more discounted iron ore (2)
- ArcelorMittal takes urgent action against Sishen
- ArcelorMittal asks JSE to halt trade in shares
Johannesburg, Feb 26 (I-Net Bridge) - ArcelorMittal South Africa (ACL), the South African arm of the world’s largest steel producer, on Friday said Sishen Iron Ore Company (SIOC) had notified the company that it… »

An iceberg the size of Luxembourg has split off from the Antarctic continent and could disrupt global ocean patterns and weather systems for decades, according to scientists.

The 985 square-mile (2,550 square-kilometre) block of ice was knocked off the Mertz Glacier Tongue, a spit of floating ice protruding from East Antarctica on February 12 or 13…. »

Johannesburg, Feb 26 (I-Net Bridge)   Gaming and leisure group Sun International (SUI) on Friday reported diluted headline earnings per share of 259 cents for the six months ended 31 December 2009, from 344 cents earlier.
    It recorded diluted earnings per share of 259 cents, from 343 cents earlier.
    Revenue for the six months was 2%… »

LEI, CPI, PPI, GDP, M3, PSCE……..don’t you love the jargon that the economists throw at us in the name of data? Sadly we have to take note, and to explain all this and a lot more is our resident market veteran Liston Meintjes. Not only South Africa was busy by the way-the US had a… »