NEW! GCN shows are now available in PodCasts! Listen to your favorite shows, when you want, where you want and how you want...day or night! Free Podcasts are available in 16kbs. GCN Members Only get 64k Pod casts! Click the Join Today Button above to find out how to become a Member! Get Today's Top Headlines at GCNLive.com! GCN is On Line, On Air, and On Demand 24/7 for You! HEADLINES CONTACT PROGRAM DIRECTORY LISTEN LIVE POD CASTS ON DEMAND MP3CD DIRECTORY WEEKDAYS SATURDAYS SUNDAYS SHORTWAVE S.C.P.C. INFO STARGUIDE III MEDIA PLAYERS AFFILIATE MEDIA SPONSORS Freddie Mac Plans to Raise $5.5 Billion Freddie Mac, the big provider of financing for residential mortgages, said Wednesday that its first-quarter loss widened to $151 million as the housing market worsened, though the results were not as poor as expected. The company, based in McLean-Va., also said that it planned to raise $5.5 billion in new capital. The quarterly loss at Freddie Mac was larger than a loss of $133 million in the first quarter a year ago. The results were equivalent to a loss of 66 cents a share, compared with 35 cents a share a year earlier. It reported a $2.5 billion loss in the fourth quarter. Freddie Mac said it had set aside $1.2 billion for losses as a result of rising mortgage delinquency rates, falling home prices and sales. Revenue in the period, however, rose to $1.53 billion from $694 million a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had expected the government-sponsored company to lose 92 cents a share on average in the latest period. The company’s larger government-sponsored sibling, Fannie Mae, is raising $6.5 billion through stock sales to fortify its balance sheet after posting a $2.2 billion first quarter loss last week. Freddie Mac’s shares rose $1.64, or 6.6 percent, to $26.60 in pre-market trading. Link To Story GCN is Sponsored By This material may not be redistributed in any way. © 2008 Genesis Communications Network, Inc.