In forcing through the bankruptcy of carmaker Chrysler, US president Barack Obama has called the bluff of the hedge funds who opposed a debt write-off agreed by the big bank lenders. The reason they opposed it is not so much greed, although that's always a factor, but the fact that they can't afford any more big write-offs without losing what remains of their investors. So they're stuffed either way. Now it looks like the same drastic surgery might be on the cards for the much bigger General Motors, which will leave even more hedge funds nursing a headache. The big US banks will support Obama because two of them, Citibank and Bank of America, are essentially funded by the US government. A third, JP Morgan Chase, has profited mightily by being the government's best friend as the financial system has unravelled. So hedge funds betting on cleaning up by sharing shares in distressed companies, trusting they'll be bailed out at a profit, are learning a costly lesson. Which is definitely a win for Obama.