Thoughts from the Frontline

The Plunge Protection Team

By John Mauldin

April 4, 2003

The Plunge Protection Team
A Hedge Fund’s Secret Wish
Randomness and Responsibility

I have had so many letters of late asking me what I think of and/or know about the existent of the so-called Plunge Protection Team, that mysterious group of government officials who secretly prop up the stock market when it drops too much, that I am going to jump in where wiser minds would just leave the subject alone. It will offer a good opportunity for you to understand concepts of arbitrage and how the markets really work. Plus, if you can prove me wrong, I will show you how to get a quick $100,000.

Following the stock market crash in 1987, the government created something called the President's Working Group on Financial Markets. The group, which includes the Treasury secretary, Federal Reserve chairman, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission and chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, was formed to ensure the smooth operation of financial markets.

Citing a Washington Post article, Carol Baum recently wrote about a 1997 article: "The Working Group's main goal,…

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