NPR 2008-07-14

The White House, the Treasury 1 Department and the Federal Reserve have announced steps aimed at shoring up confidence in the nation's two largest mortgage finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The administration is asking Congress to approve a legislation giving the government the authority to buy billions of dollars in stock in the two firms and to allow the Treasury to expand their current lines of credit. The administration is hoping the moves will ease the anxiety of investors 2. But economist 3 Peter Morici with University of Maryland says further gyrations in the stock market are likely. "Right now is the time to invest for the long term. The stock market is not going to stabilize 4 until America's banks stabilize. And that begins in New York. The largest New York banks are not well-run right now." In a statement this evening, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play a central role in the nation's housing finance system, a role that's especially important as the nation works through what Paulson called "the current housing correction".

 France's President Nicholas Sarkozy has launched a new 43-nation Union for the Mediterranean 5, calling on nations of the Middle East to follow the model set by Europe in seeking reconciliation 6 and peace. Leaders of the nations involved have been meeting in Paris, as the BBC's Mark Mardell reports.

President Sarkozy clutched the hand(s) of the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the leader of the Palestinian authority Mahmoud Abbas and dragged them together into something like a handshake. The Israeli Prime Minister, in trouble with new corruption 7 allegations at home, was effusive 8 and said a deal with the Palestinians had never been closer. Since its conception just over a year ago, it's never been quite clear what President Sarkozy's brainchild, the Mediterranean Union, was for. Now, he's probably saved it from criticism by putting as its central purpose an end to one of the world's most intractable conflicts. The BBC's Mark Mardell in Paris.

Gasoline prices have edged up a bit over the past three weeks, but just barely, up by one and a half cents a gallon. Steve Beckner of Market News International has more.

The latest surveys of service stations around the country by the AAA motorist club and the Lundberg Organization showed the average pump price of regular unleaded gasoline at around $4.11 per gallon. Alaska and California have the highest prices; South Carolina the lowest. But drivers of gas-powered vehicles should be glad they're not burning diesel 9 fuel. Diesel, used by most trucks and buses, not to mention ships and locomotives, is now averaging nearly $4.82 per gallon. And diesel has risen almost twice as fast as gas over the past year. For NPR News, I'm Steve Beckner.

Taliban militants 10 attacked a NATO outpost in Afghanistan before dawn today. Nine American troops were killed; about fifteen other soldiers were wounded. The attack touched off several hours of heavy fighting near the border with Pakistan.

This is NPR News from Washington.

Canadians are crossing the US border in growing numbers to buy new cars in the United States. As Dan Karpenchuck reports, even though the Canadian and US dollars are about equal in value, the prices for new vehicles in the two countries are not.

Cross-border new vehicle buying by Canadians is reaching a frenzied 11 pace. The North American Automobile 12 Trade Association says last year, Canadians bought close to 190, 000 vehicles in the US. But already halfway 13 through this year, the number has reached in excess of 151, 000. It's a huge increase and could double by the end of the year. The association says Canadian consumers have become acutely aware of just how much money they can save by buying in the US. The numbers began soaring last year as the Canadian dollar gained strength. Automobile dealers 14 in Canada began cutting prices, but there are still huge differences. A base model Honda Civic 15 sells for $2,000 less in the US and for the Chevrolet Impala, the difference is almost $3,000. Many consumers in Canada say those kinds of price differences can’t be justified 16. For NPR News, I'm Dan Karpenchuck in Toronto.

Thunderstorms have been providing some help to firefighters battling hundreds of wildfires in California. But in some areas, downpours triggered mudslides that posed further challenges for weary fire crews. Cal Fire spokesman Mike Mohler says more help is on the way. "We have multiple fires across the state. We've been spreading resources throughout the state. We have resources not only statewide from different communities, nationwide and we also are gonna get in some international resources here within the next day or two." Mohler says firefighters have made progress containing the blaze north of Sacramento that once threatened thousands of homes as well as the blaze along the Big Sur coastal 17 area.