The Globe's ABCP tear jerker, non sequitor

You have to love the hypocritical Globe and Mail.

Today they have a feature article on the ABCP mess, attempting to falsely portray it as “retail investor” problem, when in fact this market is predominantly an institutional market. Otherwise the Public Sector Pension Plan wouldn’t have lost $1 billion on ABCP and the Caisse wouldn’t have lost, what, $1.9 billion?

The Globe’s ABCP focus on retail is all part of a campaign to falsely position this issue in the minds of the public in advance of a government bailout. Why? Well, we have learned from the income trust issue just how sacrosanct the savings of pension funds are, which is why Flaherty gave them an income trust “carve out”, creating a tax arb between the pension funds and average Canadians who save through RRSPs. His idea of “leveling the playing field”?

The Globe has quite the track record of falsely positioning financial issues in the minds of the public. Just look at the hatchet job that Eric Reguly of the Globe did on income trusts over a two year period leading to Halloween 2006.

Do these stories strike you as anything resembling “balanced journalism”?

Capitalism for slobs.
By Eric Reguly. March 2005 Report on Business
Income trusts are turning Canadian CEOs and investors into coupon-clipping couch potatoes
Income trusts are the glazed doughnuts of the financial world, and the investors who gorge on them are becoming fat and happy. Soon, they will become lethargic, their arteries and brains clogged with trust lard. And what's bad for investors is also bad for corporate Canada.

Trust lobbyists, that's enough of your fury
By Eric Reguly. December 2006 Report on Business
Someone should encase income trust lobbyists in concrete and fling them off a bridge into deep water. On second thought, forget it; even that wouldn't stop the misguided creatures. Houdini-like, they would somehow break free and call for Jim Flaherty's head the moment their lips broke the surface. They are unstoppable and insatiable.
Still, the trusts lobbyists are lusting for blood, as if it's their god-given right to determine tax policy. They should be ignored.

Trust lobby had no hope against Flaherty
By Eric Reguly. February 1, 2007 Report on Business
If the expanding array of income trust lobby groups were to emboss their stationery, they might consider the image of Sisyphus, the symbol of hopeless labour. The lobbyists keep pushing the rock up to Jim Flaherty's door only to have it roll back upon them with great squishing sounds. Repeat process, repeatedly.
There’s no arguing with the man (Flaherty), and the trust’s disjointed effort only made it easier for him to say no

Rather than maligning income trusts and income trust investors, the Globe should be maligning ABCP and ABCP investors. Anyone who put their life savings in something they didn’t understand is certainly setting themselves up for disappointment. Like Alan Jones who stated on the front page of the Globe “If you were say investing in a mutual fund or something like a bank stock, and you knew what you were buying, you’d know the possibility that it was going to lose money. But in this case we weren’t informed”.

So what’s his point? He’s not at fault? If so, he stole that line from Jim “It’s not my fault.” Flaherty.

So where are the Globe’s cries of “ponzi scheme” and “you weren’t properly diversified”? These charges are aptly applied to ABCP investors, and not to income trust investors, to whom the Globe solely directed them.

Contrast ABCP to the income trust investor, who was investing prudently in real businesses to generate their much needed retirement income and not through some black box financial concept called ABCP.

The only risk these investors imprudently took was relying on Stephen Harper’s false promise.....not knowing that the Globe and every other media outlet in Canada would subsequently hide the truth behind Stephen Harper’s false premise for breaking that promise, namely the allegation that income trusts cause tax leakage.

The Canadian media are as bad as ABCP. In fact worse. Black box financial instruments are replaced by black box journalism.

However, as with all things "unnatural", that house of cards will soon collapse, as well. Thanks to the internet.