Alex Berenson

Most of America never noticed, but the 1990s were good times for trailer homes, a.k.a. manufactured housing. From 1991 to 1998, annual sales of manufactured homes more than doubled, to 374,000 from 174,000. ”

Although not well known outside Wall Street, Freddie Mac and its corporate cousin, Fannie Mae, are two of the world's largest financial institutions and play a crucial role in the housing market. ”

Trailer home borrowers, mostly near the bottom of the economic ladder, often default on their loans. ”

African runners regularly work out in the United States and Europe, and the International Olympic Committee sends some of the cash from the Games to Olympic committees in poor nations, which use the money to finance their own programs. ”

Federal laws against kickbacks bar pharmaceutical companies from directly giving money to patients for co-payments on the drugs they make. ”

Iraq is short on capital, short on electricity, and short on management expertise, but it does not lack economic enthusiasm. ”

Most unfortunately, Enron's plunge into bankruptcy court also cost many of its rank-and-file employees their savings. ”

Some companies use off-balance-sheet partnerships to raise money or to buy assets without ever telling their shareholders in their financial statements. ”

Big fund companies have many ways to increase the returns of young funds that they want to promote. And at least one of those games involves popular offerings. ”

Institutions like mutual funds often worry that if they disclose their plans to buy a stock, copycats will move quickly and drive up the stock before the purchase is completed. ”