In HW's initial coverage of the Fannie/Freddie bailout, we wrote that the move essentially made the Treasury into the world's largest hedge fund:
The Treasury said it will appoint two independent asset managers as financial agents of the U.S. government to manage the a government portfolio of MBS with the goal of “promoting stabiliity and protecting taxpayers.”...
Dear US Taxpayer,
I would like to congratulate you on your recent purchase. I am glad I was able to convince you that now is the ideal time to offer an uncapped backstop on a $5.2 trillion book of mortgages. We here at the Treasury Dept (along with our sisters over at the Fed), appreciate your repeat business. I am confident that this acquisition will be...
A telling story Tuesday in the New York Times suggests that Congressional Democrats knew they'd been taken for a ride after this weekend -- that the current administration was able to pull it off is somewhat stunning:
Mr. Dodd all but accused Mr. Paulson of misleading Congress less than two months ago when the Treasury secretary...
Via the New York Times, news today that the nation's foreclosure mess is starting to creep into the hallowed ground of New York's Manhattan:
... in recent months, mortgage lenders, real estate brokers and financial counselors have noticed that more apartment owners in Manhattan are missing payments, putting their apartments up for sale to avoid losing them to...
The WSJ's Real-Time Economics blog posted copies of internal emails distributed to Freddie Mac employees by former CEO Richard Syron and new CEO David Moffett.
Moffett's best points:
I can only imagine the pressure you have been under, and the frustrations you must have felt in recent weeks. This has been a difficult and...
HW reported yesterday that GMAC/ResCap had decided to shutdown its wholesale and retail mortgage origination channels, a move that will cost 5,000 employees their jobs; but GMAC officials told National Mortgage News Thursday that the move wouldn't likely impact production. Much.
Which either means the company was carrying dead weight to the tune of 60 percent of its...
This week, I'm helping my friends at Calculated Risk -- which means much of the content that might have appeared as a BuzzPost will likely end up over there.
Take this post on FHASecure, for example.
The CR blog is one of the economic area's best, and I'm glad to help a friend out. Feel free to read liberally, if reading...
Joining the ranks of other Wall Street investment banks -- many of whom have already cut their Q3 earnings estimates for their colleagues -- analysts at Wachovia Capital Markets decided to join the party, too, according to Reuters:
"Seasonal slow markets, reluctant investors, declining valuations in both fixed income and equity, and more marks will highlight a challenging...
Via Paul Krugman at the New York Times, a visual that shows real income history for the 35-44 crowd:
But you'll be glad to know that those over 65 have seen a huge jump in their income under the current administration, in contrast.
For many, the housing rush was one of the only ways the younger...
John Carney at Dealbreaker -- one of my favorite financial writers out there -- had an interesting take on Freddie's successful debt sale Monday. HW reported on the sale's stronger-than-expected response from investors as a net positive for the beleaguered GSE, which it was.
...
