60 Minutes interviewed (12:03) finance maven James Grant on the instruments Warren Buffett called "financial weapons of mass destruction." Essential viewing. Wait until you see the video of a credit default swap derivatives contract running hundreds of pages. N.B., A credit default "swap" is an insurance contract; the term "swap" allows the issuer to escape insurance regulation specifying capital reserves required. Defending what seems to be indefensible is the head of the International Securities Derivatives Association (ISDA). The video is simply stupefying.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) disclosed that illegals may hold 5 million fraudulent mortgages in default. Do Hillary & John McCain wish to bail these folks out too?
Here is the smoking gun from a 1992 Boston Federal Reserve report:
"Policies regarding applicants with no credit history or problem credit history should be reviewed. Lack of credit history should not be seen as a negative factor. Certain cultures encourage people to 'pay as you go' and avoid debt."
And who ran the Fed then? Richard Syron, ousted last month as CEO of...Freddie Mac.
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