NEW YORK (MarketWatch)The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing whether traders are front-running mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the swaps market, Reuters reported
The report, citing an FBI intelligence bulletin, said some traders were using "unsophisticated tradecraft" such as hand signals and special ring tones as they conspired to rig rates on large orders submitted by Fannie and Freddie
According to the bulletin, the information came from a former high-level employee at a U.S. bank and a Canadian bank employee, Reuters reported
The bulletin didn't name any of the traders or banks suspected of the activity or whether it might extend beyond the two banks, the report said
Reuters said spokesmen for Fannie and Freddie didn't immediately return requests for comment, while the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission declined
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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)-- The Federal Reserve should end its controversial bond-buying program sooner than the end of 2014, said Charles Plosser, president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve, on Tuesday. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said the Fed could exit its program, known as quantitative easing, by the end of 2014 if the economy continued to improve as forecast. "My preference would be that we conclude the purchases sooner than this," Plosser said in a speech at La Salle University. Plosser said the weak December job report "has not changed by belief that the economy has already met the criteria of substantial improvement in labor market conditions" laid out by the central bank for tapering the purchases. Plosser is a voting member of the Fed's rate-setting committee this year.
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher said Tuesday he wanted the taper to be double the size it was -- in other words, $20 billion instead of $10 billion. The Fed is still buying $75 billion worth of Treasurys- and mortgage-backed bonds each month. "But the important thing for me is that the committee began the process of slowing down the ballooning of our balance sheet, which at year-end exceeded $4 trillion. And we began-and I use that word deliberately, for we have more to do on this front-to clarify our intentions for managing the overnight money rate," he said in a speech to the National Association of Corporate Directors. Fisher, who this year is a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee, stressed he would "not flinch" from continuing to reduce asset purchase even if a stock market correction were to ensue.
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