Paulson's Cronyism

http://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2011/11/paulson-cronyism

George W. Bush's Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, gave a select group of money managers at a July 21, 2008 meeting — Eric Mindich, Stephen Mandel, Dinakar Singh, Frank Brosens, James Chanos, Steven Rattner, Bennett Goodman, and Daniel Och — a different view of his plans for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac than he was giving the public, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports. Bloomberg Markets at times describes the money managers as getting advance word of a Fannie "rescue," but a more accurate description, at least for Fannie's shareholders (not bondholders), was a seizure, a term the article uses once.

To anyone who was trading in Fannie or Freddie stock at the time without benefit of special briefings from the Treasury Secretary about his plans to take away the companies from their shareholders and wipe out their investments, it's pretty outrageous news. As it is to anyone who was not trading in Fannie or Freddie stock at the time, but who who just believes in government and markets that provide a level playing field or a rule of law that treats everyone equally.

by Editor  |  Nov 29, 2011 at 11:37 am Related Topics:  Capital Markets Regulation, Fannie Mae, Henry Paulson receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list