Fox Business' Charlie Gasparino is reporting that Pimco, in meetings with brokers, has "launched an all-out war to discredit" research from analyst Meredith Whitney.

Pimco is said to be unhappy with Whitney, who in December appeared on CBS' 60 Minutes and warned of billions of dollars of defaults in the municipal-bond market. She sang the same tune in subsequent appearances.

"In the wake of Whitney's prediction....investors have sold their muni holdings in droves," reports Gasparino, adding that Pimco "has been hit particularly hard."

Pimco has waged a "toned-down" battle against Whitney in public, the report states, but in meetings with brokers, those selling Pimco's products have embarked on an "all-out" battle.

Citing an anonymous source, Gasparino reports that "a Pimco representative said that the money management firm has even obtained a copy of Whitney's report, and it 'wasn't worth the paper it was on.'"

The report being referred to is a research report Whitney wrote in September 2010 called "Tragedy of the Common; Launching Ratings on the Top 15 States." Pimco reportedly shelled out $10,000 to get the report.

That report did not have the predictions of 50 to 100 muni bond defaults that Whitney mentioned in her TV appearances.

Pimco spokesman Mark Porterfield declined to comment to Fox Business. 

Edited by: Armie Margaret Lee


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