Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com). Voice of America is funded by the US Federal Government and content it exclusively produces is in the public domain. July 11, 2008 Washington Voices Support for Troubled Mortgage Companies; Oil Soars Above $147 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1D24EE9:A6F02AD83191E160D02529ABC9A8BB3930EB2FA2E66CBB22& But statement by Treasury Secretary appears to rule out government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac companies Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the House Financial Services Committee hearing on systemic risk and the financial markets, 10 Jul 2008The U.S. Secretary of the Treasury says federal regulators are backing two troubled mortgage finance companies "in their current form." The statement by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson appeared to rule out a government takeover of the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac companies, the two largest mortgage finance firms as their debts mount and their stock prices plunge. Fannie and Freddie have lost billions of dollars in the recent wave of U.S. mortgage defaults. Top government economic officials say Fannie and Freddie have adequate money, but investors appear skeptical. The firms were chartered by the government to make mortgage loans more available to U.S. home buyers by buying up mortgages from banks, bundling them together, and reselling them as securities to investors around the world.The two! firms own or guarantee about half of the U.S. mortgage market, which is worth trillions of dollars.The U.S. economy has also been hurt by soaring oil prices, which hit a record high Friday of $147.27 a barrel in New York trading. Oil prices rose because of tensions between Israel and Iran, a possible strike in Brazil, and continued violence in Nigeria which could limit crude supplies at a time of strong demand for oil. Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP, Bloomberg and Reuters. .