Last week was quite scary. Markets don’t like uncertainty, especially when it is man-made.
The main point of each article below is BOLDED IN RED.
The future of Fannie and Freddie- Tim Iacono – Wow. Elected officials are really getting carried away in their response to the loss of Ted Kennedy’s seat in Massachusetts. There’s reform in the air all over the nation’s capital, Bloomberg now reporting that Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) is recommending that wards of the state Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be abolished … Wasn’t it Barney Frank who said a couple years back that the GSEs needed to do more to help the housing market recover (on a temporary basis)…. – The Mess That Greenspan Made
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2 important points – Tim and Barney – Adios! – Submitted by Bruce Krasting – …I bring this up because quite frankly I am mad this evening. Two important things took place today regarding the Agencies. Both of them upset me. In the fray of a three-day, 5% drop in the market; I think the implications were lost. … – Zero Hedge
strategic discussion – Guest Post: Bernanke: All about the Cloture Vote – Submitted by Tyler Durden – … I’m no Senate parliamentarian but it is important for us to understand some of the subtleties of this matter, … The important take home here folks is that if less than 60 Senators vote yes for cloture, that means debate is open endlessly. If this were to happen, it is most likely the end for Bernanke due to the January 31 conclusion of Bernanke’s term as well as the perception (correctly so), which will be amplified to enormous extremes by the media, that the political support is simply not there for Bernanke and Obama will have to make that phone call to Bernanke that he is toast. … – Zero Hedge
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The Role of Government Affordable Housing Policy in Creating the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 – This 26 page congressional report written in July 2009 will make you ill. – U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform arrell Issa (CA-49), Ranking Member – Heritage.org
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The Anti-Bernanke Politicians Are Hypocrites – Megan McArdle – Everything he did for the banks is what they were too scared to do themselves – Clusterstock at Business Insider
Is It Just Us, Or Did Tim Geithner Get Fired Yesterday? – Henry Blodget – … Recall the opening words of Obama’s short speech: Good morning, everybody. I just had a very productive meeting with two members of my Economic Recovery Advisory Board: Paul Volcker, who is the former chair of the Federal Reserve Board, and Bill Donaldson, previously the head of the SEC. … What Obama was telling America was “I just had a meeting with two new advisors, and, based on what they said, I’m launching a new policy.” … – Clusterstock at Business Insider
Obama’s Blunder: Forgetting Politics Is All About Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, And More Jobs – Joe Weisenthal – Clusterstock at Business Insider
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Obama’s Bank Plan Is Doomed To Failure – Peter Schiff – Once again, President Obama completely missed the mark … What he fails to acknowledge is that this behavior was the direct result of the cheap credit supplied by the Federal Reserve and the moral hazard supplied by government regulations and subsidies. – Peter Schiff Blog
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Volcker: Resetting the Moral Compass – By GRETCHEN MORGENSON – IT was great to see President Obama renew his focus on financial reform last week, even if it looked like an attempt to distract voters from his party’s stunning loss of the Senate election in Massachusetts. Even so, by promoting the ideas of Paul Volcker — the esteemed former Federal Reserve chairman — the White House is finally elevating the discourse on how best to rein in risky behavior at banks and protect beleaguered taxpayers from future bailouts of Wall Street. … – NY Times
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Will Obama Whack Geithner and Anoint Volcker? – Larry Doyle – Sense on Cents