Fannie, Freddie Bull Ackman Steers Clear of D.C. Fight
NEW YORK ( TheStreet ) -- Bill Ackman demonstrated with his short bet against Herbalife ( HLF _ ) that he isn't afraid to enlist politicians to his cause, but the Pershing Square Capital Management boss had been keeping pretty quiet about his stake in government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae ( FNMA _ ) and Freddie Mac ( FMCC _ ) . Ackman broke his relative silence May 5, with a 110 slide presentation at the Ira Sohn investor conference, but don't expect the hedge fund manager to begin the kind of vocal campaign he has pursued with Herbalife, says a person familiar with Ackman's thinking. Ackman took a bit of a bruising in the press in March, when The New York Times depicted the hedge fund manager as the puppetmaster behind government investigations of Herbalife. Since Ackman unveiled his short position on Dec. 20, 2012, he has faced considerable pushback from the company, as well as from i...