ohboyareyouintrouble.jpgPerhaps the details of Mayor Daley’s reputation were not entirely explained to the deal team at Mesirow.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, in a debt offering typical of President Barack Obama’s Build America Bonds, raised $600 million this week, relying on advice from Mesirow Financial Inc., a 72-year-old investment bank based in the city. Within 12 hours, the firm assured itself and investors a profit of at least 2 percent as the bonds appreciated as much as $25.82 for each $1,000 face amount, according to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board.

Wall Street fleecing financially naive municipalities is a practice as old as sin, but you would think Chicago had the wherewithal to protect itself a bit better from this kind of nonsense. Then again, perhaps we are selling the City short. In this context, one wonders how much overlap there might be between Mesirow and the City elders.
Even Mayor Daley Can’t Get Rates Taxpayers Deserve for Chicago [Bloomberg]

Comments (11)

  1. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 12:40 PM

    cough, mobster, cough

  2. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 12:48 PM

    In other news, it’s extremely common for bonds to pop up on the break. This news story says more about the reporter than anything else.

  3. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 12:53 PM

    So you’re implying that chicago might be corrupt? My cops will tell you they know nothing about that.
    -Richard D.

  4. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 1:10 PM

    Watch it Bess, if Shortshanks finds out you are poking fun at him, he’ll go Chuckie on you.

  5. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 1:11 PM

    @ 4 Posted by Equity Private, Aug 14, 2009, 12:37pm

  6. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 2:08 PM

    He looks like he has a colossal boil on his sphincter brewing…

  7. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 2:15 PM

    Diane Swonk made her bonus for the year.

  8. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 2:59 PM

    @7 its dianne swank you prick
    larry kudlow

  9. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 4:28 PM

    @8 I thought it was Diane “the Skank”.
    CG

  10. Posted by guest | August 14, 2009 at 9:50 PM

    Someone alert John Kass of the Tribune. I think it is jskass@tribune.com

  11. Posted by guest | August 16, 2009 at 11:55 PM

    Or perhaps yet another case of crack reporting by Bloomberg?

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