A 259 billion dollar "misread"

Apparently, Barney Frankengang has started to own that he "misread" the problems of Freddie and Fannie leading up to the mortgage meltdown.

Now for me, I would consider a misreading something to the tune of missing the "s" at the end of a plural noun, reading "there" instead of "their", or adding a tape and missing a number. But this is what constitutes a "misreading" in Barney world..........

The government spelled out Thursday just how much the most expensive rescue of the financial crisis will end up costing taxpayers — as much as $259 billion for mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

That figure would be nearly twice the amount Fannie and Freddie have received so far.

By contrast, the combined bailouts of financial companies and the auto industry have cost taxpayers roughly $50 billion, according to the Treasury Department's latest projections. And the bailouts of Wall Street banks alone, which sparked public fury, have so far brought taxpayers a $16 billion return.

Fannie and Freddie were battered by losses on loans they backed, once the housing bubble burst and foreclosures soared. The two companies buy home loans from lenders, package them into bonds with a guarantee against default and sell them to investors.

On Thursday, the government provided a broad estimate of the costs of bailing out Fannie and Freddie, because their losses depend on home values over the next few years. If prices fall sharply, as some analysts forecast, Fannie and Freddie won't be able to recover as much money on foreclosures. And they would require more taxpayer aid.

Fannie and Freddie's rescue has cost $135 billion so far. Their bailout could end up costing taxpayers between $142 billion and $259 billion through 2013, the Federal Housing Finance Agency projected. Those figures take into account dividends that the agency estimates the two companies will end up repaying.

Holy shit, a 259 billion dollar "misread"? That would make Frank illiterate to the millionth power.

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