Archive for the ‘Federal Housing Agencies’ Category

Fannie and Freddie – Is the Public Itself in Denial?

Saturday, August 16th, 2008

Evan Newmark points out (WSJ, Aug 15, 2008) the fundamental facts of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s (henceforth F&F) existence. None of them are news but his conclusion, that F&F should be closed, is news of a sort. I have not seen this conclusion before in the popular press, although ...

Freddie and Fannie Offed? Dare to Dream.

Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008

A reader asked me the other day when Freddie and Fanny were created. I knew the answer was that rarest of events, something that happened before my time. God created the earthquake, so I thought it might have been on the third day of all time or something. So I ...

Are Freddie and Fanny Too Big to Fail? Here’s a Better Question – Is the United States Too Big to Fail?

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

I am so sick of having it explained to me that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae are too big to fail. There are two aspects of this little tale that make me nauseous. First, the reason Fannie and Freddie got this big is itself criminal (before you sue, Federal Reserve, I ...

Fighting Our Way Out of the Banking Crisis: Paulson Takes the Ball.

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

The Credit Crisis seems to be approaching its nadir, although it is clear that we will lose several more banks, perhaps many of the smaller “me too” banks, before this experience is over. We seem to be moving into a phase that happens in every crisis from war to basketball. ...