U.s. Economy, Quarterly Earnings | featured news

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two mortgage-finance giants, this week reported some of their best quarterly results since the real estate collapse. On Wednesday, Fannie Mae posted second-quarter net income of $5.1 billion. That is up from $2.7 billion in the first quarter of this year and an improvement from a net loss of $2.9 billion in the second quarter of last year. Fannie requested no additional money from the Treasury and said it would pay a $2.9 billion dividend to taxpayers.

The American economy grew slower than predicted in the first quarter, as government spending cuts offset a pickup in consumer spending.

The third quarter’s gross domestic product grew at a 2.0 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said in a revised estimate, down from the previously estimated 2.5 percent.