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Posted on YouTube: March 19, 2010
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Posted on DU: March 20, 2010
By DU Member: democracy1st
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With Friends Like Friend, Who Needs Financial Reform? Amy Friend, chief counsel to Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd (pictured) -- the senator who's instrumental in crafting legislation to overhaul the financial services sector -- bought shares in large banks and insurance companies that the committee considered rescuing during the height of the financial crisis in 2008.
That's right: Friend and her husband acquired shares of Morgan Stanley (MS), Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), American International Group (AIG), "and other rescued companies as the panel considered legislation to address the credit crisis," according to Bloomberg.
It gets worse. Friend also bought shares of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) before she was hired, Bloomberg reports, and bought stakes worth as much as $15,000 in four banks just weeks after taking the job.
Legal, but Despicable
The transactions, sadly, were permissible under Senate rules. But what I can't understand is how Friend had the time to unleash her inner Buffett. She made her trades at the height of the unfolding disaster, when congressmen -- and anyone connected to the financial-services industry -- were kinda busy. And they still are, with Dodd's financial-services overhaul bill and other legislation -- which brings us back to Friend.
Rather than risk losing his bid for reelection, Dodd is retiring after his term expires. Since he decided to call it quits, he has emerged as a passionate advocate for financial reform. "To restore faith in our markets and the economic security of the American middle class -- and to avert a potential future catastrophe -- Congress must pass comprehensive reform of our financial system," he wrote in Politico.
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/with-friends-like-friend-who-needs-financial-reform/19404975/#