Larry Summers is a genius!

By John Lauerman and Michael McDonald Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Harvard University, the world’s richest school, paid almost $500 million to investment banks to escape interest-rate swaps that backfired, according to the school’s annual report released today. http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/CoyoteGenius.gif contracts. The annual report provides new details on Harvard’s derivative-related losses. Many were... [more]

By John Lauerman and Michael McDonald Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Harvard University, the world’s richest school, paid almost $500 million to investment banks to escape interest-rate swaps that backfired, according to the school’s annual report released today. http://i.zdnet.com/blogs/CoyoteGenius.gif contracts. The annual report provides new details on Harvard’s derivative-related losses. Many were entered into in 2004, said Christine Heenan. Lawrence Summers, director of President Barack Obama’s National Economic Council, was the university’s president at the time. Harvard has frozen employee salaries, slowed hiring, cut staff and offered other workers early retirement as part of a cost-cutting program to compensate for losses in its endowment. Harvard Paid $500 Million to Exit Backfired Swaps (Update1) The fund, which dropped to $26 billion in value over the fiscal year from $36.9 billion, paid 38 percent of the school’s bills during that time, the report said. [less]