Paulson's Conversion: It's Time To Regulate Hedge Funds

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. had a stern message for more than two dozen of the nation's most powerful hedge fund managers gathered in the third-floor conference room near his office.

Paulson told them it was time to begin regulating the opaque realm of hedge funds, reversing his long-held opposition. "You should not be thinking about how to fight it but how to make it work," he recounted telling them at the meeting last month.

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Comments

[truthynesslover]

too little too late.heck of a job!

[sposton]

"I said, 'There wouldn't be government support,' " Paulson said. "They said they wouldn't buy it without government support."

Ain't that revealing?

[BrettnCalgary]

I guess he just noticed the horse that's been wandering around grazing for quite some time, he's heading over to close the barn door now...

[PhilipTaylor]

Yes! Hedge Funds, Derivatives, and all the NEW INVENTIONS these guys can come up with.

Better yet lets get back to CLEAR and SIMPLY Financial Products that everyone can understand and that does NOT take fifteen hous of computer time cranking Complex Models to arrive at "AAA" out the other end! Lets get Ride of the House of Paper Cards!

[JoeBlough]

And regulate executive compensation.

[ErnestineBass]

And how about taxing it at 30%+ rate us mere mortals pay...?

[munki]

Where have you been?
It is overdue...
regulate is fine, was it monitored? check and balance?

[Troubledwawa]

Yes it is time Hank.

But I can wait until January 21st, 2009.

[Ping]

Finally figured it out.

[leeman79]

No sh@t einstein!

[Icantbelieveher]

Gee, ya think?

[zizyphus]

How about a list of the hedge funds' clients - which is sure to include terrorists and narcotraffickers? Maybe the people would like to hear about how they launder trillions in black market money.

[mikeVA]

Yah, the hedgies might start dumping Government Sachs.

[andyg]

It a bit late Clinton tried in the 90, and the major players moved over seas.

[csavage]

Yes, it's time to regulate them......except nobody really knows how much that market is worth now.
And it's also time to get banks out of the securities markets and investment houses out of banking and everything else that got swept aside that was left over from the FDR administration because, lord knows, FDR was a socialist who prolonged the Depression or whatever else brain-dead neo-cons are saying these days

[Topsailsman]

Finally, the worship of the all knowing all seeing free market that is correct in all its judgments and in all its ways is cracking. There is no invisible hand, just grasping grabbing powerful hands in a battle that is heavily tilted toward the haves and against the have-nots.