document.write("<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-16'?><link rel='stylesheet' href='http://www.thefinancials.com/news/clients/erate/news.css' xmlns:wxsl='http://www.w3schools.com/w3style.xsl' /><link rel='stylesheet' href='http://www.thefinancials.com/news/styles/tfc.css' xmlns:wxsl='http://www.w3schools.com/w3style.xsl' /><table border='0' width='100%' cellpadding='4' cellspacing='0' style='border-collapse: collapse' bordercolor='#111111' xmlns:wxsl='http://www.w3schools.com/w3style.xsl'><tr><td class='headline'>Freddie Mac reports $50 billion loss<p class='copyright'>upi</p></td></tr><tr><td><span class='description'><div class='qmnews_headline'>Freddie Mac reports $50 billion loss</div><div class='qmnews_story' id='story'><P>U.S. mortgage giant Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. has asked the federal government for an additional $30.8 billion to offset losses.</P><P>Freddie Mac said it lost $50.1 billion in 2008, almost half of that in the fourth quarter, The Washington Post reported Thursday.</P><P>The government gave Freddie Mac $13.8 billion when it fell into federal conservatorship last fall. The government has said it would cover $200 billion of the firm's losses.</P><P>In addition, 'we expect the residential mortgage market will continue to deteriorate in 2009,' Freddie Mac said in its earnings report.</P><P>The government-sponsored enterprise that operates with the dual mission of making a profit and creating housing opportunities for low-income citizens said it had made changes recently 'in a manner that serves public policy and other non-financial objects but may not contribute to profitability.'</P></div></span></td></tr></table><span class='providedby' xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>via theFinancials.com</span>")