SCOTUS hits Fannie and Freddie shareholders

For an idea of how much influence jurists can have on a company's share price, look no further than Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, whose prognosis has changed radically in the wake of a Supreme Court ruling this week.

The big picture: The Trump administration said that it was committed to removing the housing agencies from their current conservatorship, under which they need to remit all their profits to the government.

• The Biden administration, by contrast, is likely to embrace its de facto control of the agencies in an attempt to address structural problems with America's housing market, including racial disparities and the broad imbalance between supply and demand.

Driving the news: The Supreme Court ruled that the president could fire Trump-appointed regulator, Mark Calabria.

The bottom line: Stock in Fannie and Freddie has always been a high-risk bet on certain judicial outcomes. Those outcomes, today, are more remote than ever.

Go deeper: Biden replaces FHFA director after Supreme Court ruling