Countrywide Financial Corp. boosted its borrowing capacity by $12 billion as the mortgage lender struggles to weather the slowdown in the housing market, the company said Thursday.
The move came after the largest U.S. home lender borrowed $11.5 billion and sold a $2 billion stake to Bank of America in recent weeks so it could keep operating its retail banking and mortgage businesses.
In addition:
The decline in the U.S. commercial paper market slowed last week, prompting speculation that the worst of the short-term credit rout may be over.
U.S. stocks rose and Treasuries fell after the Federal Reserve reported short-term debt dropped by $8.2 billion, compared with a decline of $54.1 billion a week earlier. That coincided with Countrywide Financial Corp. obtaining new financing and banks finding buyers for loans to fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.'s buyout of Alliance Boots.
Traders took this as a sign the credit markets are easing up and bid the market up accordingly.
