Countrywide CEO Takes the Punch Bowl Away

By discrediting virtually every step taken thus far to help the housing market and the mortgage industry, Countrywide Financial(CFC Quote) Chief Executive Angelo Mozilo killed Wall Street's buzz about the credit crunch being over.

In an interview on CNBC Thursday morning, Mozilo also said he believes the U.S. is headed toward a recession, taking the wind out of any confidence boost that briefly came from news that Bank of America(BAC Quote) took a $2 billion stake in the company via a convertible bond offering.

"When you have this level of delinquencies and foreclosures, there is no way it doesn't have an impact on psyches and wallets," said Mozilo.

"I don't see the light here," he added, noting that the current financial panic is among the worst he's seen in 55 years.

In the end, Mozilo's words popped the stock market rebound that had begun in earnest on Friday.

After posting early gains, the three major stock indices each ended down a hair. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped a fraction after trading as high as 13,298 intraday. The S&P 500 shed 0.1% and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.4%. Countrywide's shares ended up only 20 cents, or 0.9% after surging over 10% at the start of the day.