Countrywide denies rumors

Angelo Mozilo says he has never been through anything like the last six months – the scrutiny, the allegations, the outrage over how he manages Countrywide Financial. Every morning the chairman and CEO wakes up thinking the worst is over and suddenly there’s some new crisis. It happened again today when the stock nosedived as much as 22 percent on rumors that the company was running short of cash. An analyst downgrade earlier in the day didn't exactly help. Things got so bad that a Countrywide spokeswoman had to deny rumors that the company could file for bankruptcy protection - not what you want your PR people to even engage. The stock did rally to finish just down 2.7 percent. Still, it's only trading at $10.28 a share. Wowser. (Reuters)