(Investors) don't want to see this relatively ferocious back and forth between the government and Telstra management, they want to see a plan for how earnings and the share price of the company are going to be buoyed.

However, by retaining a sizeable shareholding and a share in the management of the company, they are able to hold on to a good proportion of the company's profitability into the future.

Freddie Mac ( FRE ) takes these issues, which relate to prior management of both the company and its government relations operation, very seriously. The settlement announced today is part of the company's ongoing efforts to put behind us regulatory and legal issues dating back to 2003 and earlier.

The ultimate arbiters of the models of banking and the management of banking are the investors. It's the shareholders.

We have seen a recklessness in the management of state government and finance that has been unprecedented.

Investors are still concerned about ABC,