US government seizes Fannie and Freddie

The US government takes over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Markets seem to like it. From Reuters:

The immediate reaction to the U.S. government's commitment of up to $200 billion to support the two giant mortgage lenders, which together back about half the country's $12 trillion in mortgages, was positive.

Thirty-year mortgage rates fell about a half percentage point from Friday to 6.0 percent, according to Bankrate.com, helped in part by the Treasury's decision to buy mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 293.52 points or 2.6 percent, while the FTSEurofirst stock index closed up 3.3 percent.

The positivity may not last though. Again from Reuters:

Every time over the last year that the U.S. government has stepped in to calm jittery markets Wall Street has scored big gains -- but time and again the move higher has proven fleeting as the credit crunch has flared anew.