Greenspan Concedes to `Flaw' in His Market Ideology

Greenspan Concedes to `Flaw' in His Market Ideology (Update2)

By Scott Lanman and Steve Matthews Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) --

Highlights:

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan: said a ``once-in-a-century credit tsunami'' has engulfed financial markets and conceded that his free-market ideology shunning regulation was flawed. He stated I was ``partially'' wrong in opposing regulation of derivatives and acknowledged that financial institutions didn't protect shareholders and investments as well as he expected. Forecasting is an inexact science.

Greenspan opposed increasing financial supervision: as Fed chairman from August 1987 to January 2006. Policy makers are now struggling to contain a financial crisis marked by record foreclosures, falling asset prices and losses tied to U.S. subprime mortgages.

``What went wrong": former chairman wondered, with global economic policies that had worked so effectively for nearly four decades?''Greenspan reiterated his ``shocked disbelief'' that financial companies failed to execute sufficient ``surveillance'' on their trading counterparties to prevent surging losses.

Greenspan Revised Recommendations: Firms that bundle loans into securities for sale should be required to keep part of those securities and other rules should address fraud and settlement of trades.


Commentary

Falling Giant: Alan Greenspan, was once considered the most powerful and well respected man in finance has now lived long enough to see it turn around. We cheered him on when he helped us and now sneer because he failed us.


New Deal Regulation: It appears we are on the verge of a paradigm shift in free market regulations and oversight. Stay tune for a litany of new laws and oversight after the new administration comes into power in 2009.



Jim

Freddie & Fannie Resurrection

COMMENTARY

Freddie & Fannie Resurrection

The Bailout ($$$ Trillion plus) is running wild. The danger is we have an administration who is writing the checks knowing that they won't be around to justify all the additional next generation taxes they are creating in the form of interest and principle payout.

One last hurrah for the Darwinian Capitalism, survival of the fittest - - Only the strongest and most influential corporations will dine for free at the taxpayers table. This is self selection in a manner that rewards privilege and resource.

How can this be? Upon selection, let's examine the new collection of Wallstreet retreads Treasury Secretary Paulson will chose to work with.

It will be interesting to see the teams that are chosen and if they had a past role they had in creating the original problem we are trying to solve. In additional, none of them work cheap. Their skills are worth millions of dollars in compensation so taxpayers pay again. No new regulation, rules, limits, or compensation caps, business as usual one more time.

Another Way ---

Since the American tax payer has all ready bailed out Freddie and Fannie I would like to suggest that Secretary of Treasurer Henry Paulson consider working more predominately through these two agencies.

A handful of executives got excessive compensation bonuses but the rest of the organization did not. For decades these organizations did what they were charactered to do. Adjust the mandate, monitor the compensation, and regulate their leverage and let them propose some programs.

Recommendation: Freddie and Fannie submit a joint draft detailing how they would mop up the targeted toxic mortgages along with additional suggests on how to stabilize the real estate market by Thanksgiving.

Why? Having worked with these two agencies in various capacities, I can tell you most of the employees don't have a rip and tear mentality often found on the Wallstreet.

In Addition:
* They have a corporate infrastructure in place to handle the size that will be necessary.
* They have the ability to drill down to the loan level and help stabilize the underlining problem of price erosion of real estate properties.
* They have the ability to quickly launch a series of new origination products that can mop up the toxic mortgages.
* They are a known an accepted International Organizations.
* Untied States Tax payer is the primary owner of these two GSA's and deserve to benefit of any profit, if there is one.

Finally, Regulation, Oversight, and Compensation controls can be monitored and adjusted to reflect fair value for all employees and participates.

Obviously there is more, but this project can work and within the confines of the existing financial platforms.

Jim