Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae get pummeled; Qwest $25-par notes tick up again; issuance quiet

By Christine Van Dusen

Atlanta, Oct. 2 – Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae on Thursday continued to suffer in the wake of a federal judge’s recent decision to dismiss lawsuits alleging it was illegal for the mortgage corporations to funnel profits to the government in the form of dividends.

“They’re getting hammered,” a trader said. “Maybe they’re getting to a bottom here.”

Also on Thursday, Qwest Corp.’s new $500 million issue of 6 7/8% $25-par senior notes due 2054 traded at $24.45 on low volumes following Wednesday’s level of $24.39 and Tuesday’s level of $24.35, he said.

The Monroe, La.-based telecommunications company has two 7% issues coming due in 2052, one in April and one in July. Both were recently spotted trading above par.

In the afternoon, UBS Preferred Funding Trust IV’s floating-rate non-cumulative trust preferred securities closed down 8 cents to $20.07 on a whopping 1.5 million shares traded.

Barclays Bank’s 8 1/8% non-cumulative dollar preference shares, series 5 ADR, dipped 9 cents to $25.89.

And Royal Bank of Scotland’s 6.6% noncumulative dollar preference shares, series S ADR, dipped 2 cents to close at $24.75 on 177,822 shares traded.

Meanwhile, all was quiet on the issuance front, he said, as issuers and investors kept an eye out for economic data from the United States.

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