It is the middle of August, and traditionally hardly anything happens on Wall Street with so many people absent. Earnings reports arrive regardless, and Fannie Mae reported a $10 billion profit, largely the result of rising real estate values. Plans to wind down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will surely remain on hold until the next real estate decline arrives with the accompanying losses in the mortgage trade.
State regulators closed Bank of Wausau, a small bank in Wausau, Wisconsin, with $41 million in deposits. Nicolet National Bank, of Green Bay, is taking over the deposits and purchasing two thirds of the assets.
