The SEC and NYSE Bend Rules For Fannie Mae

Reuters reports:

U.S. securities regulators have approved a New York Stock Exchange proposal that allows the Big Board to keep a company's stock listed under certain circumstances even absent timely financial results.

Under the Securities and Exchange Commission's recently posted decision dated Jan. 19, the NYSE may decide that in rare circumstances a company that has failed to file timely financial results remains suitable for continued exchange listing because of its position in the market.

"The Exchange believes that there are very rare circumstances involving listed companies that have a position in the market (relating to both the nature of their business and their very large publicly-held market capitalization) such that their delisting from the Exchange would be significantly contrary to the national interest and the interests of public investors, notwithstanding a delay in an annual report filing that extended beyond one year," the SEC said in its order.

Nobody else gets away with this in the S&P 500.Why should Fannie Mae? Just because they've bought a lot Congressmen with campaign contributions.Where's the outrage on this one? A quasi-monopolist gets more rules bent.Would Microsoft or Wal-Mart get away with this? I doubt it.Eat your heart out Enron.I guess Enron didn't play the political game good enough.