Deep freeze.Deep Freeze deep freeze see freezer. : After Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson forged an agreement with lenders to fix interest rates on some loans for five years, local lenders and homebuilders got some much-needed help in the two markets hit the hardest by the credit crunch Credit Crunch An economic condition whereby investment capital is difficult to obtain. Banks and investors become weary of lending funds to corporations thereby driving up the price of debt products for borrowers. and real estate slowdown For articles with similar titles, see Slow Down (disambiguation). A slowdown is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. . The deal, which is voluntary, is focused on borrowers who face high re-set rates through July 2010. Shares in Calabasas-based lender Countrywide Financial Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC) is a diversified financial marketing and service holding company engaged primarily in residential mortgage banking and related businesses. Corp. closed up more than 16 percent Dec. 6, while Santa Monica-based Fremont General Corp. closed up nearly 14 percent the same day. Local homebuilders also saw a much-needed surge, with Los Angeles-based KB Home adding more than 16 percent and Calabasas-based Ryland Group Inc. seeing its shares close up 11 percent. President Bush said the rate freeze is meant to help pull the country out of its three-year-long housing slump Slump A temporary fall in performance, often describing consistently falling security prices for several weeks or months. , which has pushed down home values and has restrained growth to what economists estimate will be less than 1 percent this quarter. |
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