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Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants

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In a way, the situation is ironic: housing was at the root of the financial crisis, and six years after the meltdown, housing finance is still the greatest unsolved issue. The U.S. housing market is roughly $10 trillion, making it one of the largest segments of the bond market. Roughly 70 percent of the American population has a mortgage, and for most people, the mortgage is the most important financial instrument in their lives. But until the financial crisis, few people knew the essential role that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play in their mortgages. Given the $188 billion government bailout of the two firms — the most expensive bailout in history — the politics surrounding housing are worse than they've ever been, and the two gigantic firms sit in limbo. Best-selling investigative journalist Bethany McLean, the coauthor of The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here, explains why the situation is dangerous and unsustainable, and proposes a few solutions — from the perfect, but politically unfeasible to the doable, but ugly.

Pages: 162

Format: Kindle Edition

Publisher: Columbia Global Reports

Release: September 14, 2015

Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants

0/5 ( ratings)

In a way, the situation is ironic: housing was at the root of the financial crisis, and six years after the meltdown, housing finance is still the greatest unsolved issue. The U.S. housing market is roughly $10 trillion, making it one of the largest segments of the bond market. Roughly 70 percent of the American population has a mortgage, and for most people, the mortgage is the most important financial instrument in their lives. But until the financial crisis, few people knew the essential role that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac play in their mortgages. Given the $188 billion government bailout of the two firms — the most expensive bailout in history — the politics surrounding housing are worse than they've ever been, and the two gigantic firms sit in limbo. Best-selling investigative journalist Bethany McLean, the coauthor of The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils Are Here, explains why the situation is dangerous and unsustainable, and proposes a few solutions — from the perfect, but politically unfeasible to the doable, but ugly.

Pages: 162

Format: Kindle Edition

Publisher: Columbia Global Reports

Release: September 14, 2015

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The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

All the Devils are Here: The Hidden History of the Financial Crisis

The Big Fail: What the Pandemic Revealed About Who America Protects and Who It Leaves Behind

All The Devils Are Here: Unmasking the Men Who Bankrupted the World

Saudi America: The Truth about Fracking and How It's Changing the World

The Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron

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