The US House of Representatives has passed major legislation aimed at limiting the economic fallout from the US housing crisis.
The bill is intended to provide relief to some 400,000 struggling US homeowners and help them to avoid foreclosures and prevent troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from collapsing. The two companies, which own or guarantee almost half of the 12 trillion dollars in US mortgage debt, have recorded heavy losses in the past year amid rising defaults. If they were unable to keep financing mortgages, analysts say the already weak housing market could grind to a halt, tipping the US economy into a deep recession. The measure is on track to pass the Senate and become law within days, after President George W. Bush dropped his opposition.
(Deutsche Welle)
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