james lockhart directs the federal housing finance agency, which oversees the mortgage firms. he says that scenario would ensure their debt obligations are honored. >> they will be protected and there will be liquidity in the secondary market, then we can decide what we want fannie and freddie to look like in the future. >> reporter: there are three key options. one: a full nationalization of the firms. two: turn over to the private sector. and three: re-creating them once again as government sponsored entities. lockhart, who's soon to leave the agency, favors option three, but says it's not an easy job. >> if it's done, it has to be done properly, and we didn't do it properly. obviously, in the past, there will have to be a very clear dividing line, clearly, between the government's role and the private sector's role, there will also have to be a very clear division what their mission is and we have to be clear that they don't have a mission that causes them to take too much risk. >> reporter: whatever the final choice, observers predict a major political battle. brookings fe

jas lockhart directs the federahousing finance agency, whh oversees the mortgage firms. he ss that scenario would ensure their debt obligaons are honored. >> they will be protected d there will be quidity in the sendary market, then we can decidehat we want fannie and freddito look like in the future. >> reporter: there a three key optis. one: a full nationalization the firms. two:urn over to the private sector. and three: rcreating them once ain as government sponsored enties. lockhart, who's soon tleave the agen, favors option three, but ys it's not an easy job. >> if it's done, it has to b done properly,nd we didn't do it properly. obviously, in the pa, there will have be a very clear dividing line, clearlybetween the government's role anthe private sector's re, there will also have to be a very clear division wt their missn is and we have to be clear that thedon't have a mission th causes them to take too muchisk. >> reporter: whater the final choice, obrvers predict a major political battle. broongs fellow doug elliott sa home prices and mortgages matter to middle c

. >> susie: james lockhart, the former head of the agency that supervised fannie mae and freddie mac, is now a turnaround specialist. he is joining wl ross and company, the new york firm known for restructurings and buyouts. until two weeks ago, lockhart oversaw fannie and freddie as they emerged from accounting scandals and guided them as they became government-chartered companies. >> paul: the food and drug administration is launching its center for tobacco products. today, the agency announced that doctor lawrence deyton will head that new division. he was the chief public health officer for veterans affairs, deyton's department will monitor tobacco advertising and promotions and focus on stopping the illegal sales of cigarettes and other tobacco products to kids. euu >> susie: in the money file tonight some thoughts on boosting the nation's savings rate. here's jason zweig, personal finance columnist at the "wall street journal." >> if the economy is to recover, saving will have to become easier. the personal saving rate has officially risen to around 5% after hovering close to ze

untitwo weeks ago, lockhart oversaw fannie and freie as they emerged from counting scandals and guided them as ey becameovernment-chartered companies. >> paul: the food and drug administration is laching its centeror tobacco products. toda the agency announced that doctor lawrence deyt will head that n division. he was t chief public health officer for veterans affai, deyton's deparent will monitor tobacco advertisg and promotions andocus on stopping the illegalales of cigarett and other tobacco products to kids. euu >> susie: in the money fil tonight so thoughts on boosng the nation's savings rate. here jason zweig, personal finance columnist at thewall street journ." >> ithe economy is to recover, saving will have to come easier. the personal savinrate has official risen to around 5% after hovering close to ze for years. but, accordi to the federal serve, only 57% of american families saved anyoney in 2007. here are a few ias that might he. tax rends automatically invested in i.r.a.s all tax refunds could be aomatically invest in an ira unless the taxpayer chose to take t refund in c

lockhart has been on the job for three years and has pressed for stricter oversight of fannie mae and freddie mac, which is the fha regulates. >> thanks, melissa. and the important thing here is the market rally's srt of on hold as we can weigh weak data putting a little bit of a damper on recovery talk. let's talk about it with two experts. david pearl, co-chief investment officer at epoch. clark winter at sk capital partners. 50% increase from the s&p 500 from the march bottom. we are discounting a rather robust recovery here. the argument of the bears is demand is not going to be there for that robust recovery. where do you stand on that? >> that's what we would say-s you've seen the market discounting a robust recovery. when you have a 50% rally in a short period of time, it's really a valuation increase. when you have a high valuation, you have high expectations of future earnings growth. there's a lot of room for disappointment from here. and the big problem is we've seen inventory restocking, easy compares. so good numbers but not demand. demand in the u.s., consumer, consumer'

dennis lockhart says it gets to the higher number if you count people who stop looking for a job after a long unsuccessful job hunt and those working less than they would like to. and he thinks many are gone for good like many manufacturing jobs lost during the recession. >>> here's another bummer. the price of beer is going up. anheuser-busch is compensating for lower sales and higher commodity prices. no word how much prices will go up the two account for 80% of all beer sold in the united states. >> amazing. at one time didn't they say during the recession people were drinking more. >> yes. >> well, we can always brew our own i pose suppose. >> i guess that's it. >> a money saving tip for you. >>> a minor league team is out at home, literally. the city parked a bulldozer on the stadium because the home team the american defenders hasn't paid its bills, $45,000 worth. before last night's game the city and team worked out a deal but it didn't help the defenders. they lost both games of a doubleheader. >>> as we countdown to the next space shuttle mission, what is next for nasa. in fiv

. >>> the fed's lockhart making statements which perhaps you saw on the bottom of our screen saying thate have recovering credit markets that have been aiding the economic rebound, and in addition to that, the gdp should soon return to positive, but subdued growth. he also mentioned that we are seeing more money flow into distressed assets, and distressed parts of the credit market, but there is more room to go on that particular probt and that there may be a protracted period of high unemployment. >> so coming up, we've got reports today that taxpayers are getting their money's worth. supposedly from the stimulus package. low prices mean the same money is paying for hundreds of extra roads and bridges. so is the stim a bargain? that's our "power grid" debate coming many up. >> and coming up, the "fast money" halftime report. rick, what are you watching? >> today, of course, the bulls just can't seem to hold on. they are trying. we're fighting for unchanged territory. hey, the data was pretty good. is the fed going to end up making a difference? is this the end of the rally? hey, oil fal

lockhart. mr.the problem that we have and-- we have never had a definitive set of hearings or commission appointed to designate what the causes of the disaster, the economic crisis over the last year or year and a half has been. i hear many of my colleagues, as i hear other commentators there are economy, asserting into the cause for several reasons, quite extreme reasons but i never knew c.r. a was so extensive within our system that they brought down the whole system but i have heard some people make that charge. i have also heard people make the charge that fannie mae and freddie mac brought down the system and i guess i want to ask you the question. is that your opinion? i can express mine, that fannie and freddie fell after the credit crisis occurred and the credit crisis basically occurred more in the securitization and private markets particularly of sub-prime loans then of fannie and freddie. they followed in the destruction of credit in the country. is that relatively true? >> there are ma

. >> famous quote joe lockhart a. >> i think president's childrens are off limits. introduce her father at the 1996 democratic national convention. >> it would have been a magical political moment and the president and the first lady said no way. no way, if we use her for that, then she's fair game. >> daddy, what city are you in? >> reporter: fast forward to the 2008 democratic convention. still lockhart believes children growing up in the white house deserve to be kept out of debate, no matter what the cause. >> these are young kids, they didn't sign up for this. they deserve their privacy. >> reporter: the white house isn't confirm wlg officials ask that the ad be taken down, but spokesman robert gibbs said the administration hopes others will be respectful and not use the first daughters as a publicity stunt. >>> health care reform, the facts, the fiction, what's in, white house what's out, cnn i-reporters are weighing in. wellbeing. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nuture it in your cat... with a full family of excellent nutrition... and hel

." >> reporter: former white house press secretary joe lockhart agrees.elsea introduce her father at the 1996 democratic national convention. >> it would have been a magical political moment and the president and first lady said no way. no way, because if we use her for that, then she's fair game. >> daddy, what city are you in? >> reporter: fast forward to the 2008 democratic convention. still, lockhart believes children growing up in the white house deserve to be kept out of debates no matter what the cause. >> these are young kids. they didn't sign up for this. they deserve their privacy. >> reporter: the white house isn't confirming whether officials asked that the ad be taken down. spokesman robert gibbs says the administration hopes others will be respectful and not use the first daughter as a publicity stunt. john? kiran? >> elaine quijano for us this morning, thanks so much. >>> we're going to be speaking in a few minutes to congressman david scott. someone spray painted a swastika on the office sign outside his building there after he held a do t

with that it is my pleasure to introduce to you director james lockhart.[applause] >> thank you for that introduction and thank you for being here today. this is our first anniversary. we were going to have. but i'm afraid they might burst and that might be a bad symbol given what has happened to the housing market. a year ago today, there was an early morning ceremony where president bush sound housing and economic recovery act of 2008, the same day, that created the federal housing finance agency. it really took many years, as many of you know, to get to that ceremony. as i left the oval office, president bush told me it was up to me. it turned out that i needed a lot of help. thank you for that help and your support for reform of the the years. starting in new agency upon signing was very unusual that there is a great sense of urgency. i promised chairman frank we would stand up the agency quickly, pulling together the finance board and hud's mission team. i am please report today that we did it despite the many turmoils in the housing market. this morn

joining us is james lockhart. great to see you on set. >> great to see you. >> you'lling leaving your post. why did you decide to step down? >> i've been at it for -- this post for about three years. and social security for 4 1/2 before that. i've been in the government for 7 1/2 years so it's about time to leave. >> you're going back to the finance world? >> i hope so. we're starting to see signs of stabilization in the mortgage market. i couldn't leave during an administration change but it's time to go. >> i couldn't imagine a more stressful climate to live the past two years. >> we continue to watch foreclosure rates climb. what do you see? >> when i see signs of stabilization, things like housing prices are starting to stabilize. serious delinquencies and foreclosures will continue to rise for a while. if we can get this affordable home program work more effectively, we'll see more stabilization. >> you've refinanced about 1.9 million mortgage loans? >> so far this year about 2.9, but in the last four months

lockhart.[inaudible conversations] an article by david goldstein entitled "private sector loans not fanny or friday triggered a crisis," without objection is so ordered. the panel was dismissed and the hearing is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] >>> you've been watching the house hearing on the regulation of fannie mae and freddie mac, both companies came under government control in 2008 in the wake of the collapsing housing market. now, an update on the latest housing related legislation making its way through congress. >>> donner of bloomberg news, why is congress continuing to hold hearings of fannie mae and freddie mac? >> because the mortgage companies right now have taken more than $85 billion in federal aid, and commerce is trying to figure out what to do with them. they said what ever they do with fannie mae and freddie mac they are not going to look like a look today. they are going to restructure them. they could remake them as a public utility. there's a number of options on the

right around mid day, atlanta fed president dennis lockhart will be in chattanooga, tennessee to balk the economic outlook and football conditions. and later today, we'll get earnings reports from dollar tree, tivo. that is your global stock watch. >> coming up on "worldwide exchange," the summer rally refuses to die. what will the new homes data and durable goods do for trade today? >>> and senator ted kennedy lost the battle due to a brain tumor. we'll look back at his life and achievements. 90s slacker hip-h. ♪ singer: buckle up, everybody 'cause we're taking a ride ♪ ♪ that can strain your relationships and hurt your pride ♪ ♪ it's the credit roller coaster ♪ ♪ and as you can see it kinda bites! ♪ ♪ so sing the lyrics with me: ♪ when your debt goes up your score goes down ♪ ♪ when you pay a little off it goes the other way 'round ♪ ♪ it's just the same for everybody, every boy and girl ♪ ♪ the credit roller coaster makes you wanna hurl ♪ ♪ so throw your hands in the air, and wave 'em around ♪ ♪ like a wanna-be frat boy trying to get down ♪ ♪ then bring 'em right back to where your

he said that he was going to bring keith lockhart next time."add-ons." we were sitting to dinner when another total stranger came to the house. vicki and i looked at each other assuming that we had to set another unexpected place at the table. instead, our mystery guest started to set up a keyboard because he had also invited the pianist from the boston pops so that we could have an accompaniment after dinner. we sang every should tune we knew aninto the wee hours of the morning. that is the thing about ted. he was at the same instance larger than life and completely down to earth. his record of achievement and contribution is unrivaled in the united states senate. his humanity, his compassion, his kindness in some ways had just as great an impact. a friend of mine recently told me the story of ted's plan to attend the funeral of aesop ravine, the prime minister of israel. the day before he left, he asked if it would be appropriate to bring some soil from arlington cemetery. no one knew the answer. that day, he went to the grave of his two brot

. >>> reports say the government's chief regulator james lockhart will resign to return to private life>> myron gets six years, two were convicted of defrauding investors. >>> the postal service expects to lose $7 billion by the time the fiscal year ends. i'm courtney reagan. >>> i'm erin burn net, this is street signs, a new world for investors what does the new world look like for banks and for anyone buying stock? a report of fighting in the obama administration true or not? we'll have mary shapiro and we'll put everything on the table. cramer, major wall street news maker and one person who wrote a op-ed saying the crisis could be afoot right now. ceo of owens corning, that's our show and it starts now. we begin as always with a check on the major market averages, we're down 63. this is not the low of the session. it is right across the board. we are well off the lows no matter where you look. stocks are suffering the worst losses, right now on the dow the biggest loser are png and the milk company and electronic art falling 7% on the nasdaq. let's check in with the markets and see

>> you know, he's the reason why i became -- tackled by number 43, spider lockhart.ve a single hair on your chest. >> the nair works good. a little painful around the nipples. >> i told you he'd be a good guest guest. >> you said no. >> he will be terrific. >> you did a four-year deal with extra. >> i thought i'd do it for six months. do something different. set the world on fire. and i really made a call on friday and they said come down, let's take a look. two weeks later i'm hosting extra. i had no idea what i'm doing. i still don't. it was fun. and in 7-eleven six months after i started, people are like dude, you stunk when you started. >> it's like anything. you've got to learn the craft and be comfortable in it. but it was never your passion? >> i felt fortunate to have the job. you guys here make miracles happen every day. you put a news show on every day. some of the smartest hardest working people. and when you see al pacino on the red carpet and you've got to ask him a question about britney spears. >> we wish you great luck, mark. >> you are adorable. >> t

. >>> fha director james lockhart will depart his jobs at month's end.ard demarco will be acting director until a pearl nent replacement will be named. "wall street journal" reports former aig ceo greenberg will settle by paying $15 million. dow component american express is up about 5% after it was upgraded to a buy rating at citi group. that's cnbc.com news now. i'm courtney reagan. >>> live from the financial capital of the world, here we go, second hour, "squawk on the street." i'm mark haines. indices are swinging between positive and negative territory. american express leading the dow higher. verizon, pulling it lower. over on nasdaq, activision up 6%. aig, mbia, cit, those are the overall leaders on the s&p. all of them are about 20% higher. erin? >> you mentioned some of the financials, the out liars, 20% highers. we're going to talking about retail, but what about those out liars? >> here's the thing. talking about retailers, the financials first. listen, aig, freddie mac, and fannie mae were up big yesterday. up again today. what do they have

." >> james lockhart has a new job, become vice chairman at w.l.oss. >> red box is suing warner home videos. >>> and stocks erased early losses and rallying led by energy shares. >>> hello, i'm erin burnett. names lie royal caribbean, merck, all on the list today. why trash bags matter for our economy. then, america banking on electric cars, the fear is we're replacing middle east oil with a lithium addiction and it isn't american either. one company trying to change that today. >>> what if medical school was free? would debt free doctors would better health care and lower cost? the hardest med school to get into is free. we have all of that coming up. the main headline this afternoon, when the left the stock exchange around 11:00 a.m. eastern the dow was down. now two-thirds in the green. let's get to the trading floors and talk about the turnaround. on the credit markets zain brown. bob, you first. what turned it around. >> reporter: dollar weakness, a little bit of speculation in the middle of the day. stocks are not doing what traders want. tak

director lockhart did make such a determination as the deteriorating conditions in the mortgage markets they does 2008 goals, which hud established back in 2004, infeasible. clearly mortgage markets have changed dramatically since then and we concluded that those original goal levels were not feasible for 2009 so in late april, we published a proposed will for the 2009 rules, and after considering public comments received, today are announcing the final goal targets as established in the rule we are sending to the federal register. the goals may be divided into three groups. free printable goals covered both single-family and multi-family mortgages supported targeted borrowers. three home purchase of goals, and a supple and that multi-family mortgages supporting affordable housing. relative to the proposed rule we published in april, we have lowered the three housing goals, left unchanged the three home purchase subgoals, and we are increasing the multi-family subgoals. focusing first on the general housing goals, we have set the low and moderate income goal at 43% of mortgage acquisiti

my name is onlleah lockhart, and i'm lucky enough to be able to afford greensprings. my question is, those who are so afraid of health care takeover, are you concerned about the 428% rise in profits for the top 10 insurance companies, yet i heard you correctly, congressman? they have 90% of the business. i think that we should be concerned about a private, greedy takeover of health care as well as other concerns. thank you. >> thank you, leah. somebody recently -- in some cases the federal government is monopolistic. i said, if you could make that argument on medicare. but there are whole states and regions of this country where one health care provider dominates the industry to the tune of 95%. that is virtually a monopoly. i want competition in the system so that people have choices. that is one of the principles that we ought to try. i have been dominating the answers here and i do not mean to. we have a wonderful panel so i want to give them an opportunity. >> congressman, we had been quiet because you're doing such a good job. i listen and look out as you listen

his name is dennis lockhart ex-he says it shrub 16%.'s because the official rate doesn't count because people who have run out of unemployment benefits no longer show up on the logs. they can't get more than a part-time job or have given up looking for work. they're not figured in the overall figure. at 8:30 this morning the latest unemployment claims. we will have those numbers for you as soon as they are released. because the market always reyactsz. reacts. gretchen: and the swine flu vaccine now won't be ready until mid october until the earliest. meantime, at the u.s. air force academy dozens of cadets had to be quarantined during the first week of basic training. fortunately the school took quick action and contained the h1n1 outbreak. for more information, head to our website, foxnews.com. dave: you have to see this unbelievable video. a television crew gets much more than they bargained for in florida. they were trying to investigate a story of underaged stripping at the home of one of the suspects when that happened. >> wait a m

he said that he was going to bring keith lockhart next time.e to the house. vicki and i looked at each other assuming that we had to set another unexpected place at the table. instead, our mystery guest started to set up a keyboard because he had also invited the pianist from the boston pops so that we could have an accompaniment after dinner. we sang every should tune we knew aninto the wee hours of the morning. that is the thing about ted. he was at the same instance larger than life and completely down to earth. his record of achievement and contribution is unrivaled in the united states senate. his humanity, his compassion, his kindness in some ways had just as great an impact. a friend of mine recently told me the story of ted's plan to attend the funeral of aesop ravine, the prime minister of israel. the day before he left, he asked if it would be appropriate to bring some soil from arlington cemetery. no one knew the answer. that day, he went to the grave of his two brothers and scooped up some soil and carried and that precious commodit

he said that he was going to bring keith lockhart next time.add-ons." we were sitting to dinner when another total stranger came to the house. vicki and i looked at each other assuming that we had to set another unexpected place at the table. instead, our mystery guest started to set up a keyboard because he had also invited the pianist from the boston pops so that we could have an accompaniment after dinner. we sang every should tune we knew aninto the wee hours of the morning. that is the thing about ted. he was at the same instance larger than life and completely down to earth. his record of achievement and contribution is unrivaled in the united states senate. his humanity, his compassion, his kindness in some ways had just as great an impact. a friend of mine recently told me the story of ted's plan to attend the funeral of aesop ravine, the prime minister of israel. the day before he left, he asked if it would be appropriate to bring some soil from arlington cemetery. no one knew the answer. that day, he went to the grave of his two broth

my name is onlleah lockhart, and i'm lucky enough to be able to afford greensprings.tion is, those who are so afraid of health care takeover, are you concerned about the 428% rise in profits for the top 10 insurance companies, yet i heard you correctly, congressman? they have 90% of the business. i think that we should be concerned about a private, greedy takeover of health care as well as other concerns. thank you. >> thank you, leah. somebody recently -- in some cases the federal government is monopolistic. i said, if you could make that argument on medicare. but there are whole states and regions of this country where one health care provider dominates the industry to the tune of 95%. that is virtually a monopoly. i want competition in the system so that people have choices. that is one of the principles that we ought to try. i have been dominating the answers here and i do not mean to. we have a wonderful panel so i want to give them an opportunity. >> congressman, we had been quiet because you're doing such a good job. i listen and look out as you listen to the a

my name is lea lockhart, of the lucky seniors who is able to afford greenespring. i wonder if those who sow fear government takeover of health insurance are also concerned about the 428% rise in profits the top 10 private insurance compani companies, if i heard you correctly,congressman, who have 90% of the business. i think that we should be concerned about a private, greedyakeover of health care as well as other concerns, thank you. >> thank you. somebody recently asked, in some cases, isn't the federal government monopolistic? i said maybe you could make that argument on medicare, but there are whole states and regions in this country where one health care provider dominates to the tune of 95%, that is virtually a monopoly too. so iant competition in the system so that people have choices. that is one of the principles, health care reform, we undertake. i have been dominating the answers here and i don't mean to. we have a wonderful panel so i want to give them an opportunity to comment on the questions and we will be back for more questions or answers. >> congr