Finance and M&A News and Updates

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - The assets of failed U.S. mortgage lender IndyMac are being bought by a group of private equity and hedge fund firms, including Dune Capital Management and J.C. Flowers & Co, which are putting up $1.3 billion in cash.

Fifth Third Bancorp announced today that it has completed the sale of approximately $3.4 billion in preferred shares to the U.S. Department of the Treasury under the Treasury's Capital Purchase Program .

NEW YORK (Reuters) - GMAC, the General Motors Corp <GM.N> financing affiliate that received a $6 billion infusion from the government, completed a multibillion dollar debt swap on Wednesday designed to bolster its capital.

Ponzi schemes seem to be basically affinity scams, built off of ethnic solidarity. Maybe investors should only trust people who aren't their co-ethnics. We could call it "ethnic investment diversification."
Or maybe it's a Florida thing. Even Dick Fuld had a place in the Sunshine State. Should the rule be "don't invest with anyone who pals around in Florida?'
From the Reuters:

Fairfield Greenwich presented itself as being among the best-of-the-best in terms of manager-selection ability. The reality appears to be this: It was indeed expert at selecting the biggest Ponzi scheme in history--and otherwise mediocre at best.