Bush: Takeover of housing giants 'critical'

President George W Bush tonight said that the historic federal government takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is needed to keep them from failing, a risk he called “unacceptable” for an economy battered by housing and credit crises.

“Allowing the companies to fail or further deteriorate would damage our home mortgage market, and could weaken other credit markets that are unrelated directly to housing,” Bush said in a statement.