Rate Freeze Talk Lifts Local Shares

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As talk of the government’s proposal to freeze the low introductory interest rates on recently made home loans intensified Thursday, shares in local lenders and homebuilders surged.


Shares in the nation’s largest lender, Calabasas-based Countrywide Financial Corp., gained more than 10 percent Thursday to $11.48 while shares in Santa Monica-based bank Fremont General Corp. added 5.3 percent to $5.21.


Shares in local homebuilders also got a boost, with Los Angeles-based KB Home adding 9 percent to $22.76 and Calabasas-based Ryland Group Inc. gaining 5.9 percent to $25.57.


Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been pushing for a five-year freeze on interest rates for adjustable-rate mortgages in an effort to stem a record amount of foreclosures, which was at a 20-year high for the third quarter, setting an all-time record. President Bush was to announce his support of a similar plan Thursday afternoon.

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