Greenspan slams Freddie, Fannie again

[ckramer]

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan took aim on Thursday yet again at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while other U.S. central bankers spoke about bank regulation. None discussed the current economy.

In addition to Greenspan, Federal Reserve Board Governor Susan Bies said the Fed would understand if some U.S. banks opted to stay under the framework of the Basel I accord on capital adequacy rather than move to Basel II. Governor Mark Olson spoke on the bank clearing of checks.

Greenspan's comments were by far the sharpest as he leveled a barrage of criticism at the two mortgage giants, which the Fed says have used their implicit Federal guarantee to make a mountain of money.

"The Federal Reserve Board has been unable to find any credible purpose for the huge balance sheets built by Fannie and Freddie other than the creation of profit through the exploitation of the market-granted subsidy," Greenspan said in a speech that he delivered via video link to a housing conference hosted by the Atlanta Fed.

link

[whistle]

1. Dahaaa, Alan...Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are private companies

...whose only purpose is to make money!

[pinerow]

2. Capitalism at work...

nt

[Kagemusha]

3. What Greenspan means is making money = taking on risk

Therefore it's basically gambling with public backing under the fiction that these companies are not what in British Commonwealth nations would be called "Crown corporations". And really, really hoping that their bluff is never called by the real world.

[cliss]

4. Fannie Mae.....and Freddie Mac.....

Two creatures that were fed by both private industry....and the government. They both grew and grew.

They became unbelievably big. Think of a Plesiosaurus in a pond. These two "Quasi-governmental" entities are a weird mutation that has Alan Greenslime scared. He lays up at night, thinking about what to do. As he looks up to the ceiling, he realizes that the situation may be out of control.

If he tries to slap some restrictions on the "odd couple", then it could bring the whole house of cards tumbling down, along with the US real estate market, which is inflated beyond belief. If he lets it go, these two will mushroom out of control and the paper house will crash anyway.

What to do?

[ckramer]

6. What to do?

"To err on the grow's side"

[Massachusetts]

5. Squeeze Play to Get a Bush Boom

"Why is Greenspan fretting about Freddie and Fannie? Because housing is internal growth that produces more import demand for maufactured goods, and Greenspan knows that if this continues, he will have to raise interest rates enough to produce a recession. He's doing every thing he can to raise interest rates as slowly as possible, to give money currently parked in the mortgage market as much time as possible to get out.:" - Stirling Newberry


Link

http://www.agonist.org/

[autorank]

7. Let's face it, Greenspan wants to crash the economy.

Harry Reid was right, he's a "political hack."

He's flat fucking incompetent. What a fool.