LOS ANGELES — Shares of Countrywide Financial Corp., the nation’s largest mortgage lender, sank to an all-time low Tuesday as a major homebuilder offered a grim outlook and the Bush administration signaled it is growing more concerned about rising mortgage defaults.
KB Home reported a mammoth $772.7 million loss for the fourth quarter and said there are no indications the housing market is stabilizing.
The head of Fannie Mae predicted the housing market would weaken through 2009.
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the administration is exploring expanding a deal it brokered with mortgage lenders last fall to include relief to people who borrowed at prime, conventional rates as well as those with subprime, adjustable-rate mortgages that were due to reset.
The New York Stock Exchange temporarily halted trading of Countrywide shares Tuesday before the company issued a statement denying rumors that a bankruptcy filing was imminent.
The Associated Press
