The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), which is tasked with regulating government backed mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, will soon make a decision regarding whether or not it will allow Fannie and Freddie to reduce mortgage amounts for troubled borrowers. Several analyses have shown that reducing mortgage principal is the most effective step for preventing foreclosures, and now an FHFA analysis shows that it could be a good deal for taxpayers as well READ FULL POST 1 COMMENTS

After significant pressure, Mitt Romney released two years of his tax returns, which showed, among other things, that he pays a lower tax rate than many middle-class families and has employed a Swiss bank account to hold his investments. Today, Vanity Fair ran an expose on Romney’s investments, providing some new details regarding funds that he keeps in the Cayman Islands, how his retirement fund grew so large, and how he manages to avoid paying his fair share of taxes.

“Romney, like the superhero who whirls and backflips unscathed through a web of laser beams while everyone
else gets zapped, is certainly a remarkable financial acrobat. But careful analysis of his financial and business affairs also reveals a man who, like some other Wall Street titans, seems comfortable striding into some fuzzy gray zones,” wrote Vanity Fair’s Nicholas Shaxson. Here are five ways Romney is engaging in such financial shenanigans: