[Mpls] Fundraising Idea for Minneapolis Pensions: Spanking Fannie

[Allen]

Good Morning,

I would be more than happy to let loose on FNMA, GNMA, FHLB and all 
those other messes the Feds have created.  But I fail to see how this 
issue affects Minneapolis.  If the city and / or it's pension funds have 
not invested in mortgage-backed bonds, how is this an issue facing the 
city?  What did those the 3 listed points do that would constitute 
stealing money from the city? 

Thank you.

Allen Graetz
Lowry Hill



Victoria Heller wrote:

>>From The Daily Reckoning Weekend Edition January 15-16, 2005
>
>Fannie is in the news again, and it sure ain't good news.  Two Ohio public
>retirement funds have been granted lead plaintiff status in the case against
>Fannie, Ohio's Attorney General announced on Thursday.  These two retirement
>funds - one for teachers and one for public employees - lost millions of
>dollars by investing in Fannie Mae, and they're calling it
>fraud...securities fraud. They say Fannie has issued "numerous false and/or
>misleading statements and financial reports."  "Here's the big deal," began
>Addison Wiggin after we sought his opinion on the crisis. "It's a trial that
>everybody is watching...If Ohio can win its case, every other state pension
>system in the country is going to be on this in a heart beat. They were ALL
>heavily invested in Fannie."
>
>Local commentary.....
>
>Not only did Fannie enable several BAD DEALS to occur in Minneapolis (like
>Riverside Plaza and Stone Arch Apartments) but one out of every five home
>mortgages has been purchased by Fannie Mae, bundled with others, and sold as
>bonds to foreign investors.  If anyone thinks that they are dealing with a
>local bank, think again.  Banks have become "loan originators" and "loan
>servicers".  Most mortgage debt these days is owed to foreigners,
>predominantly Asian according to the Wall Street Journal.
>
>So Minneapolis should go on the offensive - start suing those who stole our
>money.
>
>#1 - Real estate developers
>#2 - Fannie Mae and other corporate crooks like Target
>#3 - Standard & Poors, Moody's and Fitch
>
>[Note to Listmanager - My post stops here.  The following postscript is
>extraneous, but related]
>
>Vicky Heller
>North Oaks and Cedar-Riverside
>
>
>Postscript:  Continuing the commentary about Fannie's Ex-CEO, Franklin
>Raines who was also President Clinton's BUDGET DIRECTOR!!!!!
>
>"It's a major litmus test for the U.S. financial system," Addison continued.
>"Because any decision in favor of Ohio would risk major havoc in the stock
>market, the housing market and the economy itself, there's going to be
>immense political pressure to steer this one in Fannie's favor. We're always
>pointing the finger at Japan saying: you can't recover from your credit
>induced bubble burst because you won't let your big banks fail, but are we
>about to let the nation's second largest financial institution get trounced
>in the markets and the courts? That's the question."
>
>The stock market as a whole was weaker last week, but not much. The Nasdaq
>and the S&P lost 1 and 2 points respectively, to trade at 2,088 and 1,185.
>The Dow lost 46 to 10,558.  Commodities were strong, especially in the
>energy sector. Crude was up nearly $3 last week and now trades at $48.38.
>This year, crude is already up 11.3%. Gold and silver gained too. Gold
>gained $3.50 to $422.50 and silver 17 cents to $6.60 an ounce.
>
>"This Fannie story is going to become quite a spectacle," cautioned Addison
>as we left work on Friday. "Think Enron...or LTCM. Franklin Raines should
>move to Europe, or Asia, and get the hell out while he can still use the
>airports."
>
>Either that, or line him up as Greenspan's successor in 2006...
>
>Regards,
>
>Tom Dyson,
>The Daily Reckoning
>
>
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