Mailbag; "Bear Trader Writes": Analysis of Wall Street Journal editing of story re Fanny and Freddie Mac

Interesting that the original story, published in the paper newspaper,
has been re-written on the website to exclude it's most interesting
parts. The foreign bank's influence is a much smaller part of the
current on-line version of the story than I find in yesterday's print
edition, comparatively mentioned only in passing.

What you missed:

Original paragraph #2:
"Meanwhile, new details emerged of the pressures that led up to
Treasury's plan to take the reins o the troubled companies. In the
weeks before the government's intervention, nervous foreign finance
officials barraged Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve
officials to find out what was happening with the mortgage giants,
according to people familiar with the matter."

Original paragraph #3:
"Among those making the calls were Asian investors, including the
Chinese, say tow people familiar with the matter. China's four biggest
banks have pared back their holdings in debt of the companies, with Bank
of China Ltd., the largest holder of Fannie and Freddie securities among
Chinese banks, saying earlier this month it sold or allowed to mature
$4.6 Billion of the $17.3 Billion it held as of June 30 - which was down
from more than $20 Billion at the end of last year."

So, Fannie and Freddie suffered a "run on the bank" halted only by the
federal government taking them over. Fannie & Freddie yield spreads
against Treasuries were the highest on record and increasing
exponentially. The American public will pay the bills, a bill of
somewhere between $200 Billion and $1 Trillion. Chris Dodd and Barney
Frank are foaming-at-the-mouth angry because they have lost control of
the goose that has laid them so many personal golden eggs. Political
golden eggs, too, of course. Costs money to "serve the public".