It was announced yesterday that the U.S. government is going to take over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in an effort to shrink the influence the mortgage giants will have on Wall Street and Capitol Hill. The plan places the companies in a conservatorship and replaces the management. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the bailout was necessary because a failure of either company could result in even more turmoil in financial markets around the world. Paulson would not say how much capital the government would eventually provide. This is just the latest in a series of financial crises this...
