In Brief (three items)

Fannie, Freddie Meet Capital Goals

WASHINGTON - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac met minimum capital standards in the fourth quarter of 1999, a regulator said.The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said Tuesday that Fannie Mae exceeded its minimum capital requirement of $17.8 billion by $105 million. Freddie surpassed its requirement of $12.3 billion by $405 million, the regulator said.

Every three months OFHEO is required to report to Congress the capital levels and classifications of the government-sponsored enterprises.


Cendant's Adjusted Earnings Off 77%

NEW YORK - Cendant Mortgage's adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization were $12 million in the first quarter, down 77% from the same period last year.The company said it expects the full-year figure will be only "slightly lower" for 2000 than it was for 1999.

The Cendant Corp. unit's first-quarter revenues fell 17%, to $77 million. The company said its origination volume for home purchases was essentially unchanged but that its refinance volume plummeted; the sector was off 89% from last year's record levels.

Move.com, Cendant Corp.'s online real estate and lending channel, reported revenues of $11 million in the first quarter, up 267% from the period a year earlier. Move.com reported a net loss of $26 million.Cendant said it expects to report losses "for the foreseeable future" from Move.com as it invests in it.

Cendant Corp. overall reported net income of $69 million during the first quarter of 2000, down 81% from $362 million in the same period last year.


HomeAdvisor to List Canada Homes

REDMOND, Wash. - HomeAdvisor.com announced Wednesday that it is expanding into Canada, predicting that two of every three homes for sale there will be listed on its site.HomeAdvisor, founded by Microsoft Corp. and spun off into a joint venture last month, said Coldwell Banker Affiliates of Canada, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc., and the Toronto Real Estate Board have agreed to provide listings.

"The success of HomeAdvisor throughout the United States has created great demand from Canadian consumers and real estate professionals alike," said Ian Morris, product unit manager for HomeAdvisor.

Freddie Mac and the home loan units of Bank of America Corp., Chase Manhattan Corp., Wells Fargo and Co., and General Motors Corp. are Microsoft's partners in HomeAdvisor. The joint venture plans to unveil a redesigned version of its site in the coming weeks.

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