Wall Street Hubbub 8/5: A Writedown Policy Change At Fannie/Freddie?; Regis (RGS) For Sale; Troubles In LED Space

Rumors and gossip run rampant on Wall Street every day. Below is a run-down of the latest talk going across trading desks:

• Today rumors were swirling in the bond pits that the U.S. would loosen the writedown policy for Fannie Mae (OTCBB: FNMA) and Freddie Mac (OTCBB: FMCC) and allow the forgiveness of principle on certain mortgage debt. The Treasury denied this rumor, saying "the administration is not considering a change in policy in this area."
  
  
• Shares of Regis Corp. (NYSE: RGS) jumped 15 percent today after the company announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the exploration of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value.
  
  
• Republic Bancorp Inc. (Nasdaq: RBCAA) and Jackson Hewitt (NYSE: JTX) were under heavy pressure today after the IRS said it will stop electronically underwriting tax refund loans, which carry high interest rates. "We no longer see a need for the debt indicator in a world where we can process a tax return and deliver a refund in 10 days," IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said in a statement. RBCAA is down 18 percent, while JTX is down 17 percent. H&R Block Inc (NYSE: HRB), the largest tax preparer, is down 2 percent. HRB said the IRS elimination of the debt indicator for refund loans will reduce 2011 earnings by about $0.05.
  
  
• LED stock fells on reports from the Commercial Times earlier that some Taiwanese LED makers are getting fewer orders. Cree Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE) fell 4 percent, Veeco Instruments Inc. (Nasdaq: VECO) fell 11 percent, and Aixtron Aktiengesellschaft (Nasdaq: AIXG) fell 7 percent.
  
  
• Hansen Natural Corporation (Nasdaq: HANS), Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG), RINO International (Nasdaq: RINO) and InfoLogix, Inc. (Nasdaq: IFLG) are all the subject of unsubstantiated takeover talk today. HOG and IFLG are slightly higher, while HANS is slightly lower. RINO jumped over 10 percent late in the session.

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