Following the seemingly endless procession of short-squeeze-fueling trial balloons last week – from settlement rumors to German blue-chip bailouts to Qatari investors – Germany’s Bild newspaper confirms the rumors that sparked weakness on Friday: Deutsche bank CEO John Cryan has failed to reach an agreement with the US Justice Department. John Cryan - Click to enlarge Having soared over 25% off the briefly...
Read More »America’s Mortgages
The Economist reports about the political economy aspects of America’s semi-nationalized mortgage industry.
Read More »The Helicopter Mortgage
Medical vs. Financial Engineering I broke my elbow a month ago, pretty badly as I was told. The surgeon screwed the pieces back together, using a steel alloy bracket and six screws. Two hours later, I left the hospital with no cast, a bandage (just to cover a very ugly scar), a prescription for painkillers and therapy started a week later. What would have happened if I had suffered the same accident in 1975? The...
Read More »Why is Freddie Mac Reporting a Loss?
A Sudden Turn for the Worse Freddie Mac HQ – a strange time for posting losses Photo via nytstyle.com Freddie Mac posted a loss of $354 million this quarter, versus a $2.16 billion gain the previous quarter. Fannie Mae did slightly better with net earnings of $1.1 billion, which were still substantially down from $2.5 billion the previous quarter though. Instead of delving into the entrails of the financial statements, I would like to ask a broader question: Why is Freddie reporting...
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