Why Is Eric Cantor Investing Against U.S.?

[Synthaholic]

From the Wall Street Journal, so wingnuts cannot bitch about the source:

What do Bill Gross, Evan Newmark and Rep. Eric Cantor have in common? They’re all betting against Treasury debt!

But only one of these men has been involved in heated negotiations over the government’s debt ceiling, and that’s Eric Cantor, No. 2 Republican in the House.

Mr. Cantor, who walked out of debt discussions with Vice President Joe Biden last week, owns up to $15,000 in shares of the ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury ETF, Salon notes today, updating a Wall Street Journal report on this from last year.

Salon argues this means Mr. Cantor has a conflict of interest in the debt negotiations. Conventional wisdom holds that letting the talks fail would roil the bond market, hurting Treasurys, which would benefit Mr. Cantor. The TBT is up 3% since Mr. Cantor walked out of debt talks.
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LINK

 

[Modbert]

If President Obama had even one dollar invested where he would profit from America's economy crashing, you can better believe it'd be on the front page of every major news source.

 

[BentWingedAngel]

Because he is not a true American; plus he is betting on Obama taking the blame. TREASON? That is what the GOP is all about "internationalism" They(he) are all about making the money.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Yeah its not like he has any fixed income securities he's trying to protect, right? He's GOTS-TA-B a Nekkid Short!!!

 

[California Girl]

If President Obama had even one dollar invested where he would profit from America's economy crashing, you can better believe it'd be on the front page of every major news source.

You mean it would be a lead story on Fox.

The rest would remain silent.

SOP.

 

[flacaltenn]

I was taught that when you have a future commodity SURPLUS and the buyers are fleeing and the commodity itself isn't what it USED to be --- THAT just might be a very appropriate "short"..

HIRE THAT MAN...

Give him the Tax Cheat Geihtner's job.. (He'll have to give up his shorts tho)

 

[Dot Com]

The Wall Street Journal said it. This guy is a textbook example of a sell-out.

 

[Synthaholic]

The Wall Street Journal said it. This guy is a textbook example of a sell-out.

He's anti-American, with a HUGE conflict of interest.

 

[theHawk]

How is this "investing against the U.S.?"

The best way to invest against the U.S. is to vote Democrat.

 

[Dot Com]

It was no surprise to me that first Hatch (R) then Cantor (R) would quit. The T- Party is miffed w/ Hatch too

 

[William Joyce]

Cantor is a Jew.

 

[rdean]

If President Obama had even one dollar invested where he would profit from America's economy crashing, you can better believe it'd be on the front page of every major news source.

You mean it would be a lead story on Fox.

The rest would remain silent.

SOP.

Not even you believe that.

 

[rdean]

It was no surprise to me that first Hatch (R) then Cantor (R) would quit. The T- Party is miffed w/ Hatch too

I just watched Hatch say the responsibility also belongs to the poor. They must pay.

Tea Party loves that kind of rhetoric.

 

[Zander]

The OP is retarded and wrong. It is not a bet against the US, it is a bet that interest rates will rise. Plenty of people are making the same bet. With the tiny amount of money involved it is most likely a hedge position.

 

[Flopper]

You don't buy a treasury inverse fund unless you expect poor performance such as would occur if the debt ceiling talks turn into a stalemate. The opposition could make a pretty good case for conflict interest. This was not a smart move for Cantor.

 

[Dot Com]

The mere appearance would bring any reasonable person to avoid something like this. Cantor's (R) got to go

 

[Zander]

You don't buy a treasury inverse fund unless you expect poor performance such as would occur if the debt ceiling talks turn into a stalemate. The opposition could make a pretty good case for conflict interest. This was not a smart move for Cantor.

Not really. We are talking about a very small amount of money. If anyone believes interest rates are going to rise and they owned a lot of Treasury bonds, they would hedge against interest rate risk by buying an inverse fund like the one Cantor owns.

PS: the fund is down 30% for the year

 

[Zander]

The mere appearance would bring any reasonable person to avoid something like this. Cantor's got to go

You're an idiot.

The fund is down 30% for the year.

 

[Flopper]

You don't buy a treasury inverse fund unless you expect poor performance such as would occur if the debt ceiling talks turn into a stalemate. The opposition could make a pretty good case for conflict interest. This was not a smart move for Cantor.

Not really. We are talking about a very small amount of money. If anyone believes interest rates are going to rise and they owned a lot of Treasury bonds, they would hedge against interest rate risk by buying an inverse fund like the one Cantor owns.

PS: the fund is down 30% for the year

Might be a good buy now. However, I think if a public official is in a position to influence the value of a stock or bond, they should not take any position, large or small. It's just not a smart thing to do.

 

[Zander]

You don't buy a treasury inverse fund unless you expect poor performance such as would occur if the debt ceiling talks turn into a stalemate. The opposition could make a pretty good case for conflict interest. This was not a smart move for Cantor.

Not really. We are talking about a very small amount of money. If anyone believes interest rates are going to rise and they owned a lot of Treasury bonds, they would hedge against interest rate risk by buying an inverse fund like the one Cantor owns.

PS: the fund is down 30% for the year

Might be a good buy now. However, I think if a public official is in a position to influence the value of a stock or bond, they should not take any position, large or small. It's just not a smart thing to do.

Then all politicians should be required to have ALL of their investments held in blind trusts.

One could make the case that ANY politician can influence the value of any company or bond. They can make a vote, a statement, a press release....etc...