MarketWatch writes "Money market funds argue ways to weather meltdown". The piece, subtitled, "Industry at odds about how to avoid 'breaking the buck'," says, "As policy makers debate ways to ensure that money market mutual funds bail themselves out in the event of another financial crisis, the funds themselves are at odds over the best way to keep taxpayers from footing the bill. At the center of a flurry of proposals to limit taxpayer costs in any future meltdowns is a plan put forward by mutual-fund lobby group the Investment Company Institute to create a central pool of money that could be used as a last resort. The pool would buy securities from money market funds in exchange for cash, Treasurys or agency securities that funds can use to allow retail or institutional investors to redeem their investments. Yet the ICI approach is receiving some backlash from mutual fund firms including giants Fidelity Investments and BlackRock Inc., both of which are seeking to set up capital buffers either within fund portfolios or having each fund set up external mini-banks holding reserves. Their concerns vary, but one key criticism stems from worries that an external fund won't be fairly administered in a crisis."
