Fannie Mae’s earnings, which have grown impressively over the past five years or more, showed signs of wear and tear in the first quarter of 2004 as the GSE was forced to recognize a large $959 million hit in unrealized mark-to-market losses on derivatives. The loss helped push down Fannie’s earnings for the first quarter by 2.1 percent on a GAAP basis when compared to the same period a year ago. Fannie’s latest earnings