on the status of the housing finance system, fannie mae and freddie mac have been in conservatorship for close to 9 years. in september of 2008, hank paulson famously described the conservatorships as a timeout. fannie and freddie along with fha continue to dominate the mortgage market. 70% of the mortgages are backed by the federal government. fannie and freddie currently earning profits at the housing market experiences a downturn, taxpayers could be on the hook for billions of dollars. the status quo is not a viable option. the housing finance system dependent on two government-sponsored enterprises and perpetual conservatorship is not a sustainable solution. taxpayers today bear too much risk and the government plays too bigger role in the mortgage market. a number of groups release proposals for reform in recent months including the mba, i cba, milliken institute, several co-authors writing jointly for the urban institute and many others. the committee is considering all these proposals as well as other ideas about what the future system should look like. in the meantime f hfa c

it also grants status to any mortgages eligible for purchase by fannie mae or freddie mac. it means that the underwriting -- at fannie any and freddie helped define the scope of the qme rule. accordingly, have a huge impact on the kinds of families that can get access to mortgage credit. this, the underwriting algorithms and criteria are kept secret. can you explain why it is reasonable to keep this information hidden, given it's important both to the economy and to appropriate oversight of the mortgage market? i don't know that i can explain that to you, but i can have our agency explain it to you as we understand it. >> i would like to make a commitment public. hon. watt: i would not make a commitment public. that would be a part of what we -- >> as one of these entities are conservatorship and as long as their standards are setting the boundaries for our consumer federal protection issues, i think it is important they be public. we can't exercise oversight without them. let me ask another question about principal reduction. this the 2008 bank bailout, congress required fh

and here is freddie mac saying this problem is going to be greater in total than the harm from the housing crisis and great recession. now, some people would say, well, you can't trust the government about this stuff. you have to trust the private sector. government never knows what it's talking about. well, here's a recent -- a quote in the trade publication, risk and insurance. an insurance trade publication. the editor of that publication wrote that this was what he called a growing and alarming threat. he went on to say, continually rising seas will damage coastal, residential, and commercial property values to the point that property owners will flee those markets in droves. thus precipitating a mortgage value collapse that could equal or exceed the mortgage crisis that rocked the global economy in 2008. so anybody who wonders why i come and give these speeches every week, anybody who wonders why i'm up to number 166, how about seeing the coastline of my home state of rhode island whittled away into this chain of islands, this new rhode island archipelago. if this was your state, you'

receive testimony from the director on the status of the housing finance system fannie mae and freddie mac is in the conservatorship of veneers september 2008 and paulson describe the conservatorship as a timeout. today fannie and freddie continued to dominate the market approximately 70 percent of the mortgages are back for the federal government while fannie and freddie with the housing market experiences a downturn the status quo is not a viable option. the housing finance system with two government enterprises in conservatorship as not a sustainable solution. taxpayers today have to much risk with to a bigger role in the mortgage market. those that have released proposals including the i see the day in several co-authors and many others. about what the future system should look like. in the meantime continuing to serve as a conspirator in regulator and as the federal home loan bank fhfa has undertaken a number of initiatives including those that began prior to the directors 10 year. one significant undertaking is the securitization platform that was originally intended to work independ

this is two hours. >> fanny may and freddie mac have now

we know that the government itself through the agencies of fannie mae and freddie mac demanded the purchase of trillions of dollars of worthless or risky mortgages. in fact, almost 70% of all troubled mortgages that led to the crisis were backstopped by the federal government. the left decided to roll the dice on so-called affordable housing, and the nation lost big. if america's regulatory regime brought the global economy to its knees a few short years ago, why would we ever want to double down on the same failed regulatory regime? asking her to baker's unit all two of the the damage dodd-frank has done to consumers and businesses. just in case, let me remind you of a few. 75% of banks used to offer free checking before dodd-frank became law. by 2016 only 38% did so. minimum balance requirements to qualify for free checking have almost quadrupled an average monthly fees have more than tripled. the self explained why the number of households that are either under banked or un- banked its up by more than 39 cents the passage of the dodd-frank law. data show there are 50 million fewer credit

dagen: fannie mae and freddie mac, should prepare for change.treasury secretary steven mnuchin for a first on fox interview, where he spoke about housing reform watch this. >> what i've said is i am committed to housing reform. and that we are committed not to leave them as is. for the next four years, so we want to make sure, that there is ample credit for housing it is a very, very important part of the economy. but we also want to make sure that we don't put the taxpayers at risk. >> there is a conversation going on on twitter it has been for a long time, about how president obama needed money for obamacare would take from all agencies and he took from fannie and fred is that true. >> it is true they used the profits of fannie and freddie to pay for other parts of the government. while they kept taxpayers at risk. dagen: transformation mortgage solutions president founder david your thoughts will it happen. >> it has got to happen must happen get rid of fannie mae as far as taxpayers owning them spot-on the fact federal government has taken a

finance agency director mel watt urged lawmakers to end longtime conservatorship of fannie mae and freddie mac stressing that it is the job of congress to chart a course out of it. here's a look at his testimony before the senate banking committee, it runs about two hours.

. >> we don't know we don't know what the answers are going to be, but the freddie mac, fannie mae, stilluch regulation for our banks, we will get into those issues, too today i think he is the right man the secretary of state of the treasury to take about it we've got to start somewhere today is a good day. dagen: great to see you. thank you so much senator richard shelby take care walmart report fir quarter results a rough earnings season for retailers. stuart varney back going to weigh in plus cisco announcing more layoffs more than 1,000 jobs affected, the company warning of another line to in revenue. ♪ you may be right, i may be crazy, oh but it is just -- ooh, snoet ♪ krernlz. >>> e. dagen: welcome back, we are coming up on opening bell the bottom of the next hour, to look at stocks on the move this morning, job cuts to cisco the company says it will lay off another 1100 workers, and accelerates efforts to transform into a software focused company cisco announced 5,000 job cuts august 2016 look at cisco shares and premarket trading. not much excitement there, about what cisco is do

mnuchin said was a priority for donald trump to and control of -- end control of fannie mae and freddie maceek, president trump said he would offer a tax reform package that would keep the federal tax break for interest paid on mortgages but would eliminate the deduction for local taxes, including property taxes. the homeownership rate in the u.s. is neither hide nor low by national standards. doesn'teownership appear to be a sign of economic health. theng a home limits worker's ability to move. riskythe crash showed how buying a home can become of the housing industry consumer advocates say homeownership can put families on a path to financial stability by forcing savings and providing a place to retire and allowing for appreciation. it also makes for more involve citizens and lower crime. stockmarket investments have historically build thater way to way. says heesident trump had "the absolute right" to share terrorism intelligence with russian officials in the white house meeting last week. one agrees. that's not everyone agrees. kevin cirilli spoke to senate majority leader mitch mcconne

fannie mae and freddie mac, a copy of his speech seen by reuters did not provide details or timetablefor the government agenda. nicole: let's get you caught up in the global market action after his hotselling yesterday. concerns about washington and other headlines in europe and asia are different very today. asia followed our lead nikkei down 1.3% in japan. shanghai composite index down half of 1%. korea's kospi quarter of 1%. lauren: is your doing any better this morning? banks in the out of stocks is down worse than a shed. for the monday down 1.2%. cac quarante is down 20% and dax and germany down .8%. trade to stock market futures were that great a couple hours ago, back in the right now. dow futures top 40. s&p futures down to. there was some real selling yesterday, but the question is what is there one day of the event? lauren: debacle. .now seven days in a row over 3.5% up another $2 today. oil down 13 cents. 48.94-barrel. nicole: in a fast spreading computer attack to worry about. the new attack is called vocoders spreading about two weeks ago and has infected more than 150,0

>> i think there's a growing recognition in washington that fannie mae and freddie mac can't be partunited states government for the rest of our lives, for better or worse. so i think there will be a recapitalization at some point. by the way, when that point will be, at this point i have no idea. >> sure. >> i think the catalyst potentially is if there is tax reform. and the reason is that a lower tax code will mean that they have to write off the dta and the government will not want to write them a check. >> hope you come back soon. pleasure having you. >> thank you. >>> up next, "final trade." hey gary, what'd you got here? this bad boy is a mobile trading desk so that i can take my trading platform wherever i go. you know that thinkorswim seamlessly syncs across all your devices, right? oh, so my custom studies will go with me? anywhere you want to go! the market's hot! sync your platform on any device with thinkorswim. only at td ameritrade a 10-speed direct-shift 5.0transmission.ine. a meticulously crafted interior. all of these are feats of engineering. combining them with nea

mortgage buyer freddie mac said the benchmark 30-year-rate dipped below four percent. and wall street scored new gains, as big retailers reported strong earnings. the dow jones industrial average was up 70 points to close near 21,083. the nasdaq rose 42, and the s&p 500 added 10. both of those indexes closed at record highs. still to come on the newshour: the manchester attack-- leaks from the investigation pause intelligence sharing. fear of russia, sweden invests in its military as a precaution against neighboring russia, and much more. >> woodruff: it's been a day for mourning in manchester, england, and for new police raids, in the concert bombing that killed 22 people. police say they have "very important" clues to what drove salman abedi and to other potential suspects. ciaran jenkins of independent television news has our report. >> reporter: at 11:00 a.m. in the spring sunshine, manchester fell silent, united in grief. for a moment, remembrance outshone the darkness of terror. this was for the dead, the injured, their families and friends. they're closing in on

administration is looking into -- is looking to overhaul housing mortgage giants fannie mae and freddie macrnment a decade ago. >> chaos in the heart of new york city, the story we've been sending mobile alerts about all day long, including this one that the man behind the crash in times square that killed one and hurt 22 use had two prior dui arrests. police say no indication might have been an act of terrorism. abc reporter emily rau with more. >> reporter: the driver crashed his vehicle. >> a car running people over. >> reporter: police say 26 year old richard rojas took a wrong turn in times square and jumped a curb onto a sidewalk into a crowd. >> it was like bowling, hitting people. along the route, the subject's vehicle struck 23 pedestrians, causing multiple injuries, and one fatality. >> reporter: an 18-year-old woman died from her injuries. her sister was also hurt. >> be advised multiple buses. >> reporter: the suspected driver from the broncos has a criminal record including two arrests for driving while intoxicated. police say rojas tried to run after his car crashed ending up

i may not have cared about fannie mae and freddie mac but a whole lot of mortgages were effected by those company. when lehman brothers failed i didn't know what lehman brothers did. but their collapse had incredible ripple effects. so it's just reeducation every single day, getting to the bottom of it. finding out why it matters. >> has there ever been a case where you couldn't find out where it matters? >> yes, there has. i'll never tell. >> okay. do you have a general philosophy that guides you through life? has it sustained you through challenges or moments of alienation. >> yes. >> and what is that philosophy? >> that god will never leave me lonely, that i'm here for a purpose and that i have a safety net, that is always there and it doesn't mean that i'm always going to get what i think i want, it doesn't mean that i'm going to achieve the life that i imagine for myself at every turn but it does mean that there is a reason for my existence and there's a reason for what i'm doing and that i've ended up where i've ended up for that reason and i don't have to always understand what it

agency director mel watt reiterated his concerns over long-term conservativership of fannie mae and freddie mac. he said it's congress' job to direct a path. he spoke to the senate banking committee about the future of health and finance. this is about two hours. >> the committee will come to order. today we will receive testimony from director mel watt on the st o

freddie mac says nearly half of borrowers who refinance their homes between january and march chose theis the highest level since the financial crisis. some experts say the refinancing boom represents a healthy confidence in the economy as unemployment drops. >>> a "los angeles times" says the it was a deadly weekend along the kern river in central california. three people died and 24 were rescued in multiple incidents. the wet winter is creating powerful rapids on the river. two of the dead were rafters. officials fear that the death toll could climb in the summer as more of the snow starts to melt. >>> "newsweek" says a tiger killed a zoo keeper in central england. the animal attacked a woman in an enclosure. officials called it a freak accident. a visitor says they heard a scream and people shouted, run. some people hid in a zookeeper's room until they got the all clear. long-time skoo director jack hannah calls the attack human failure. >> when these kinds of things happen the protocol has either been broken or someone made a mistake. it's not the animal's mistake at all. i cannot b

times" says breaking up big banks is a huge mistake and market watch says he six fax in the main freddie mac to keep sending profits to u.s. treasury the hearing is two hours 15 minutes. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> the hearing will come to order we will have testimony from the secretary treasury on domestic and international policy issues thank you for attending today. this is the first hearing since being sworn in as treasury secretary in february in record to our discussion many of these priorities ball to the jurisdiction of the department including housing finance reform to encourage a healthier economy. we look forward to working with you and your staff to improve the lives of americans housing finance reform is most significant piece of unfinished business following the crisis and it is important to build bipartisan support we received a hearing last week that it we were advised congress needs to iraq to determine the future of housing of finance reform by the conservatorship is unsustainable mainly gse having zero capital taxpayers on the hook for losses in

benny made, freddie mac would reduce social security and medicare there at zero in a few short years or less i want to get to the point of this exercise today to call out what a travesty it is relative to the bigger issue of the last eight years we bought 35 percent of what we spend now the budget is barring another 30% per year so by definition of discretionary spending is $1 trillion we're spending less in the rest of that is mandatory stuff every dollar of revenue we collected more tax dollars last year than we ever have in our history but yet we still have a growing debt problem so bye definition every dollar today is borrowed money. i want america to understand what this travesty is about it is a $4 trillion so want to get at the fact the budgeting process itself has only worked for time since 1974 and we have to appropriate this budget.me since talk about authorizing we have $310 billion that are not authorized today.0 that is not even being considered today as a matter of fact we have averaged 2.5 appropriation bills passedwe on average during that period of time and we have t

postal service or the va, fannie mae, freddie mac? there we get to social security and medicare. i want to come back to that in a minute. their trust funds go to zero in 15 short years or less. we're sitting in the weakest recovery and seven years. i want to get to the point of this exercise will do today and call out what a travesty it is relative to the bigger issue. in the last eight years as the federal government with borrower about 35 percent of what we spend. right now in the budget that goes through 2027 it was projected that we borrow another 30 percent per year on average over that period of time. by definition, if discretionary spending was $1 trillion on it for $20 budget we are spending less than 30 percent on men on discretionary. the rest is mandatory. it means by definition of every dollar of revenue, by the way we collected more tax dollars last year and the year before that that we ever have in our history. and yet, we still have this growing debt problem. by definition every dollar we spend, every dollar we are debating today's borrowed money. by definition. so

postal service or the va, fannie mae, freddie mac? there we get to social security and medicare. i want to come back to that in a minute. their trust funds go to zero in 15 short years or less. we're sitting in the weakest recovery and seven years. i want to get to the point of this exercise will do today and call out what a travesty it is relative to the bigger issue. in the last eight years as the federal government with borrower about 35 percent of what we spend. right now in the budget that goes through 2027 it was projected that we borrow another 30 percent per year on average over that period of time. by definition, if discretionary spending was $1 trillion on it for $20 budget we are spending less than 30 percent on men on discretionary. the rest is mandatory. it means by definition of every dollar of revenue, by the way we collected more tax dollars last year and the year before that that we ever have in our history. and yet, we still have this growing debt problem. by definition every dollar we spend, every dollar we are debating today's borrowed money. by definition. so

need for housing finance reform, we're looking very seriously at the issues with fannie mae and freddie mac fha, which expanded criteria significantly. but you know,i would say, again in mortgages i have seen the best of the he mortgage business and i have seen the worst of he mortgage business. we purchased a bank from the fdic, that probably had about one of the worst if not worst morning business that existed we saw problems with that servicing business that took years and years and years to work out. so clearly, we cannot let occur what occurred of about. no lending 98, 9% to people have no able to to pay loans. we never can allow that to occur again. he on the other hand i think we've got to be careful not to go the other extreme, that we go so far in the other extreme that when there are people that are good credits, that can pay loans, that they have access to mortgage capital. and this is this is one of the things we are looking at, r our. >> thank you. let me turn to housing finance reform, that is a major issue and has been for quite sometime. what can you share about your goals f

this is two hours. >> fanny may and freddie mac have now been in conservatorship for close to nine years. in september, 2008, then treasury secretary hank paulson famously described the conservatorships as a time-out. today fanny and freddie along with fha continue to dominate the mortgage market. approximately 70% of the mortgages are backed by the federal government. while fanny and fred dir currently earning profits, if the housing market experience a downturn, taxpayers could again be on the hook for billions of dollars. the status quo is not a viable option. the housing finance system dependent on two government sponsored enterprises and perpetual conservatorship is not a sustainable solution. taxpayers today bear too much risk and the government plays too big a role in the mortgage market. a number of groups have released proposal for