“Kurve
and Goniff”* (*Yiddish for “Whores and Thieves”)
Yes, that is what Putin and his
cabal always have been and nothing more. Watch as their noses get longer lying
about what little Russia had to do
with the downing of the Malaysian passenger jet and the brutal deaths of all of
those passengers and the crew.
Judge
Sweeney Rules, Again, for Plaintiffs
It looks like Judge Margaret Sweeney,
once again, isn’t buying the government’s line that FHFA is above the law and can
act with impunity with regard to the “Third Amendment” or “takings” cases.
She just ruled that discovery must
go forward with some limitations, which she established in her judicial order
which is linked below.
The court cases brought by hedge
fund investors in F&F preferred securities and others is a “wild card” in
the entire “what should do with Fannie and Freddie debate, because the judge
can make a major plaintiffs’ statement—in regards to financial awards—which would
impact virtually all of the legislative schemes, no matter what stage their
status, i.e. introduced, pending, discussed.
Fannie
and Freddie 2Q Earnings?
Sometime in the next few weeks Fannie
and Freddie will announced 2014 second quarter’s earnings. Management in both
entities already made clear they likely won’t be blockbuster bucks and
won’t contain much—if any—income from lender fine payments, but I still think both
sets of numbers will look good to most people.
Let me quickly establish that my
comments are based on instinct; nobody in either company talks to me about
quarterly/annual revenues or even when earnings will be announced.
I just suspect that because each had
healthy second quarter mortgage volumes, their net earnings—which we all know
go directly to the Treasury and not to shareholders—will add to the bonus overage
amount F&F already have paid the taxpayers for use of funds extended to
them in 2008.
That arrangement can end if the
White House decides to remove its head from a reportedly, anatomically
impossible body location—in which it currently appears to be stuck--and let
F&F accumulate some working and protective capital from their market
efforts.
Working
for the Big Banks (Who Doesn’t?)
I have no idea if the Urban Institute’s Jim Parrott
also shills for the big banks—as an Inside
Source article linked below claims-- but it merely would be a simple/logical
extension of his work for the Obama Administration where he championed the legislation
which became CWJC and which would have richly rewarded the nation’s biggest
banks.
The fact that Parrott may be earning income from the banks
is not as offensive as the fact the Admin is working so closely with the big
banks, a group which disdains it and fights the Obama White House on any
financial service issue that would curtail aberrant bank behavior.
And then there is the fascinating and lengthy “big
bank perp walk”---”Hey isn’t that Citi
and will it soon be BoA? Nice butt, Citi”---as the financial institutions
parade through DOJ meetings, admit guilt to violations of Treasury rules and other
bank regs, pay hefty fines, while some WH butt kisser simultaneously thanks
them for their support to dismantle Fannie and Freddie.
Invariably the banks go right out and engage in new
mandate breaking actions or more edgy ways to do business as usual. Nobody
should be shocked because that’s what banks do.
I am speaking in NYC next week and one principal thought
I hope to leave with my audience is that any new regulatory financial
arrangement to oversee the son of CWJC or any other new mortgage market idea, which doesn’t have Fannie (and Freddie)—or
the equivalent--in the picture as principal, can never be as successful as
a system where the major stakeholder has financial skin in the game.
No
federal financial regulator will ever be as attentive or as invested in their regulatory
role as would be a senior investor, i.e. Fannie Mae, which stands to lose money when the bank lenders inevitably
play fast and loose with consumers, trying to squeeze them for additional cash
or otherwise manipulate them exclusively for the lender’s benefit.
The CWJC’s jumble of new regulators and conflicting
regulatory relationships, overlap, and duplication was one of the reasons it
fared so poorly in Senate Banking.
There just are simpler and better ways to do certain
things.
David
Fiderer Writing About Maureen Dowd
I like the NYT's Maureen Dowd’s work. I think she’s
caustically funny, pinions the appropriate characters, and writes with a
certain passion.
I like Hillary Clinton, whom I think is smart,
successful, and able to lead and for whom I likely will support for President,
if she runs.
I like David Fiderer, who discovered my blog about two years
ago, and then kept in constant contact (it went both ways) as we discussed his
analysis of all matters F&F over the years and provided me with some of the
best and pithiest columns which I link as often as I can.
Last week, Dowd wrote a snide column about Chelsea Clinton Mezvinsky, Hillary and
Bill’s only child who works for NBC as well as the Clinton Family
foundation.
Fiderer that morning sent me a HuffPost column he wrote six years ago, making me aware that
Dowd often has written negatively about Hillary and Bill Clinton, which frankly
I hadn’t known.
I still enjoy Maureen Dowd’s writing, but I am linking DF’s
work because I suspect NYT readers will encounter more Dowd columns like last
week’s and might benefit having read Fiderer’s Dowd “analysis.”
(BTW, if you think DF is accurate or full of hot air,
tell him through this blog.)
What
Others Are Saying
Josh Rosner has some sharp disagreements with Sen. Elizabeth Warren
(D-Mass) on her suggestions to CWJC in this HuffPost article.
**********************************************
BTW, some juicy rumors are circulating about Sen. Warren
looking at a 2016 presidential run, which would make for a fascinating Democrat
convention and primary.
****************************************************
Poor David
Steven’s, MBA’s top honcho. He
can’t even convince his daughter to become a mortgagor and buy a house. That’s
not good a good reflection of his advocacy skills when his job is pitching
mortgages to the nation, including young people like his progeny.
Maloni,
7-17-2014
1 comment:
Another germane and thoughtful post, Bill. As a follow up: what's your read on the thermometer in your neck of the woods regarding the court cases? Are folks still paying only minimal attention or have the recent developments you've been keen to cite added pressure? Thanks.
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