Eric Cantor's glaring conflict of interest

[tpsbmam]

When Eric Cantor shut down debt ceiling negotiations last week, it did more than just rekindle fears that the U.S. government might soon default on its debt obligations -- it also brought him closer to reaping a small financial windfall from his investment in a mutual fund whose performance is directly affected by debt ceiling brinkmanship.

Last year the Wall Street Journal reported that Cantor, the No. 2 Republican in the House, had between $1,000 and $15,000 invested in ProShares Trust Ultrashort 20+ Year Treasury EFT. The fund aggressively "shorts" long-term U.S. Treasury bonds, meaning that it performs well when U.S. debt is undesirable. (A short is when the trader hopes to profit from the decline in the value of an asset.)

According to his latest financial disclosure statement, which covers the year 2010 and has been publicly available since this spring, Cantor still has up to $15,000 in the same fund. Contacted by Salon this week, Cantor's office gave no indication that the Virginia Republican, who has played a leading role in the debt ceiling negotiations, has divested himself of these holdings since his last filing. Unless an agreement can be reached, the U.S. could begin defaulting on its debt payments on Aug. 2. If that happens and Cantor is still invested in the fund, the value of his holdings would skyrocket.

"If the debt ceiling isn’t raised, investors would start fleeing U.S. Treasuries," said Matt Koppenheffer, who writes for the investment website the Motley Fool. "Yields would rise, prices would fall, and the Proshares ETF should do very well. It would spike."


More at Salon.

[WhiteTara]

1. What happened to blind trusts and fire walls?

Since when did these guys get to openly bet against the country and then profit on it?

Time to call the prick and let him know we know
Richmond Office | 4201 Dominion Blvd. Suite 110 | Glen Allen, VA 23060
p: [phone] | Toll Free: [phone] | f: [phone]

Culpeper Office | 763 Madison Road #207 | Culpeper, VA 22701
p: [phone] | f: [phone]

DC Office | 303 Cannon House Office Building | Washington, D.C. 20515
p: 202-225-2815 | f: 202-225-0011

[WhiteTara]

2. I called his office. Got through on 2nd ring

Lisa answered the phone and sounded as stupid as she could. She hung when I called him a traitor for shorting the government to enrich his own pocket. She said she'd pass the message along when I called back. He needs lots of calls. The people who work for these bastards need to know that they are not in the dark and that bright lights are shining on their perfidy.

[AndyTiedye]

3. Of Course the Repigs and their Paymasters are Betting on a Default

They win big while the economy goes down the toilet, and lose big if it doesn't.

It is particularly easy to make a killing on the market if you know exactly when the shit is going to hit the fan,
and are in a position to obstruct all efforts to stop it.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

4. SACRIFICE AMERICA TO MAKE A BUCK

ERIC IS A TRAITOR