HEDGE FUNDS NEXT?….Henry Paulson announced today that the Great Wall Street Bailout will also be a City bailout and a Bankenviertel bailout and a Ginza bailout:
“The American people don’t care who owns the financial institution,” he told ABC’s “This Week.” “If the financial institution in this country has problems, it’ll have the same impact whether it’s U.S.- or foreign-owned.” The United States is also working with foreign governments to take actions of their own.
That’s not too surprising. Unfortunately, he went on to say this:
Paulson made clear that he did not expect to use the program to purchase assets from hedge funds.
That’s what they usually say right before they’re finally forced to admit that some particular corner of the financial industry is actually in big trouble, right? So I assume this means that a bailout of a few big hedge funds is right around the corner. After all, some of them are almost certain to be hanging on by their eye teeth right now, and at least a few of those hangers-on are Too Big To Fail. So cue up the money machine.