A weekly scorecard on the state of the economy in North America and beyond
ANDREW COYNE: How the seven richest nations went all in on a plan that brought the global economy back from the brink
Okay, hear me out. I understand that if the U.S. government hadn’t stepped in and taken over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (I still can’t get over those names), then the mortgage giants would have exploded. Given that they back about half of America’s $12-trillion or so in home mortgages, that would be a very bad thing. But here’s the thing: By stepping in a bailing Fannie and Freddie out, the government didn’t solve the problem, they just diluted it.
Must-reads: Colby Cosh and Richard Gwyn on Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac; Peter Worthington on the Israeli prisoner exchange; Daphne Bramham on addictions treatment.