Nobody Minds a $200 Billion Pick Me Up

Up. Down. Up. Down. Up? Whatever the financial markets are doing, it's making me dizzy. Of course the cherry on top of the past week, the buyout of Bear Stearns for $2 a share. Meanwhile, the government continues to cut rates and help aid the markets. The following article runs through the government's relaxed requirements for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in order to allow for more loans, and to help home buyers and to get things moving again. On a lighter note, I have included a piece on the importance of staging a home.

Government Eases Fannie, Freddie Restraints (click on the title for full article)

The government on Wednesday relaxed capital requirements at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as part of a plan to quickly inject an additional $200 billion of financing for home loans.

The initiative, which will require Fannie and Freddie to raise substantial funds, is part of a broader government strategy to ease a credit crisis that has made it difficult for consumers and businesses to borrow, and spread fear throughout global financial markets.

Benefits of Staging A Home (click on the title for full article)

On the most elementary level, staggers de-clutter, rearrange furniture and accessorize a house. To those more prone to hyperbole, they set an emotional tone for a home, one that suggests a lifestyle and perhaps "speaks" to potential buyers in a way that a kid's roller blades left in the middle of the living room just can't.