Fannie and Freddie's Untouchable Profits

Would you buy stock in a company that barred you from sharing in its future earnings? Of course not. Participating in the upside is what stock ownership is all about.

And yet, as of December 2010, holders of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac common stock were subject to such a restriction by the United States government. They didnâ??t know it at the time, though, because the policy was not disclosed.