NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The Congressional Budget Office on Tuesday estimated Tuesday that a government plan to stabilize mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could cost government coffers an average of $25 billion.

CBO's estimate is an average based on "the path of housing prices in the next several months." They considered three scenarios: prices stabilize, grow modestly or decline steeply.

The CBO said it thinks there is probably a better than 50% chance that the Treasury would not need to step in. In addition, it said there is nearly a 5% chance that Freddie and Fannie's losses would cost the government $100 billion.

The CBO report came out one day before the House is expected to debate and vote on a rescue plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson last week. Paulson asked Congress to give the Treasury broad, but temporary powers intended to provide a liquidity and capital "backstop" for the two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs).

Paulson requested that the Treasury be allowed to offer Fannie and Freddie an unlimited line of credit for 18 months and be given authority to buy stock in the companies if necessary.

Both critics and supporters of the Paulson plan have expressed concern that loaning or investing money in the GSEs could leave taxpayers with a fat bill to pay.

In a speech in New York on Tuesday, Paulson stressed again there are no immediate plans to exercise the powers he seeks and characterized the proposal not simply as a way to support Fannie (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie (FRE, Fortune 500) but to support the U.S. capital markets and the economy.

"The best way to protect the taxpayer is to have very flexible powers which are temporary," Paulson said. His reasoning: That's the best way to boost market confidence in the two companies and minimize the likelihood that the government would need to lend a hand.

Even though Paulson wants as much flexibility as possible, lawmakers are expected to impose some parameters, such as giving Congress the right to limit executive pay at Fannie and Freddie and insisting that if government money is used the GSEs agree to pay Uncle Sam before paying investors dividends, or if they're liquidated, assets.

Há 5% de chances segundo deles de poder vir a custar 100 biliões

Também para a super dívida externa que os USA têm e para a qual se estão nas tintas graças ao poder da sua moeda, para eles 100 biliões não é nada. E 25 biliões? nada mesmo. 25 biliões no meio de 8,200 biliões de dívida hehe

Acho que dá média segundo estes de $89,539 por família

Curtam este: [url]http://olhares.aeiou.pt/_divida_externa_usa_/foto622559.html[/url]


É giro como no [url]http://www.bolsapt.com/resumo/FNM/[/url] anda lá no fundo o tópico "Como Torrar mais $25 Billion"

Os USA não são o país super rico que muitos pensam