Snow down on the MLEC

John Snow - Hank Paulson's predecessor as Treasury secretary - isn't that keen on the MLEC either. According to Reuters:

We've got all this paper out in the system, and my inclination is to say, let's accelerate the price discovery process on this paper [...]

We know that when you prop things up artificially -- Japan -- we know when you prop things up artificially -- the (savings and loans) in the United States -- you get bigger adverse consequences

He has a good point. Warren Buffett is not keen either:

I think there should be a requirement that before the securities are put into the new super-SIV, 10 per cent of the holdings should be sold into the market to people who are not associated [with the subprime problem]

Certainly the history of intervention to prop up prices in the markets is not encouraging, and suspicions remain that the MLEC will not use the right mark. Perhaps it falls foul of the Market Abuse Directive? Oh, and the ABX is on the way down again. Here are the 07-02 BBBs: