Freddie Mac-No Politics (FMCC)

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Frannie bets a puzzle to many
02:43 PM ET · FMCC

"When you talk to anybody in Washington, there is an almost universal view that Fannie (FNMA -3.1%) and Freddie (FMCC -1.5%) should be a part of the past, that it is a broken model, and also that private investors in Fannie and Freddie shouldn’t realize any returns from those investments," says PIne River's Colin Teiccholtz, scratching his head over anyone owning stock in the two as a play on them being privatized.
"We've looked at it," says Avenue Capital's Marc Lasry. "I think you’re making a bet that you’re going to be able to force the government to do something.”
It's "a puzzle to me," says an investor in Bill Ackman's Pershing Square. "If you think the Target board is hard to convince of a policy change, you have got to believe you’re really taking on a tall job to try and influence the government."
Taking a break from talking Herbalife, Ackman - who recently disclosed near-10% stakes in the common of both Fannie and Freddie - says he's not supportive of Bruce Berkowitz's recap plan (which would be of benefit to preferred owners like Berokowitz, but not so much for owners of the common)
MBS trader Deepak Narula calls the common stock of Frannie an option which should rise any time chatter about privatization picks up. "Whether the option is worth anything in the short run is immaterial.”