Economics Update

First and most importantly, GDP increased at an annual rate of 0.6% in q4. Seeing as how prices are increasing at an annual rate of greater than 4%, I would call this a contraction in real dollar terms.

Also, Initial jobless claims rise 19,000 to 373,000.

Moody's is looking at downgrading Fannie Mae. Right now, it's B+, which may be fine for a grade, but not so good for a financial institution.

Moody's is probably thinking that they at risk of having problems if there is something like a margin call, as Thornburg Mortgage Inc. currently is. It looks like they will take a $300 million hit.

We also have a q4 loss of $2.5 billionfor Freddie Mac This goes along with Fannie's $3.6 billion loss that I reported a few days back.

And just to show you that it isn't limited to real estate, the credit crunch is forcing the Pennsylvania student loan program will stop making loans, at least for now, because the credit crunch is making money too expensive.