Following a Supreme Court decision yesterday questioning the constitutionality of the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the White House ousted current FHFA chief Mark Calabria. The move is the latest “blow to investors betting that mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be returned to private hands after more than 12 years of government control” - WSJ and Bloomberg and Law360
Mr. Buffett is taking his leave as a trustee of the Gates Foundation in the wake of the Bill & Melinda split, and the move is “raising new questions about the future of the foundation.” Buffett has graced the foundation with a pledge of roughly $31 billion - NYTimes and WSJ
New Times reporting reveals that BlackRock chief Larry Fink was in “near-constant contact” with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Fed Chair Jay Powell last March “in the day’s before and after many of the Fed’s emergency rescue programs” associated with the then-nascent pandemic even though his “firm stood to benefit financially from the rescue.” More specifically, even though Fink’s firm’s ability to “directly profit from its regular contact with the government during the rescue was limited,” BlackRock “would have benefited through ‘tons of information, tons of secondary financial benefits’” - NYTimes
Spanish authorities announced yesterday that antivirus software pioneer and alleged tax evader John McAfee was found dead in his prison cell following a Spanish court’s decision that he could be extradited to the U.S. on tax-related charges - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and Law360
Details on the six (yes, 6) separate bills the House is considering that, together, “would overhaul the nation’s antitrust laws in an attempt to rein in the power of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google” - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
BuzzFeed is closing in on a deal in which it would go public through a SPAC merger—all “part of a plan to consolidate with other players in digital media,” including Complex Networks (a “digital publisher that specializes in streetwear, music and pop culture”) - WSJ
A Massachusetts state court judge has rejected Exxon Mobil’s “bid to toss claims that it deceived consumers and investors alike about the risks to its business posed by climate change,” setting the stage for the state AG to move forward with its lawsuit against the energy giant – Law360
Kind of love this look at how Treasury Secretary’s Brooklyn youth in Bay Ridge remains a guiding light for her as she works to restore “the millions of jobs lost to the pandemic and mak[e] the economy more equitable” - NYTimes
Southwest Airlines has named top company exec Robert E. Jordan to replace CEO Gary Kelly, who spent nearly 20 years at the helm of the carrier that has boomed under his guidance - NYTimes and WSJ
Since Paris is still off the table for most of us, why not let the Times take us to the newly unveiled Hotel de la Marine—the “eagerly awaited new Paris museum” that is, itself, “layered in history” (from Marie Antoinette to Napoleon to the French Navy and Vichy France) - NYTimes
Stay safe and get vaxxed,
MDR
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