Freddie Posts $821 Million Loss

Freddie Mac posted its fourth consecutive quarterly loss, set plans to slash its common stock dividend and warned of more difficulty ahead amid the steepest U.S. housing market slump since the Great Depression. For the second quarter, McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac reported a loss of $821 million, or $1.63 cents per share, compared with a profit of $729 million, or 96 cents per share, a year earlier. It follows a $151 million loss in the first quarter and brings its cumulative loss over the past four quarters to more than $4.6 billion.