Obama's Test

03-30-2009 • arclein

And he has taken too long to produce his plan for dealing with the trillions of dollars of toxic assets which fester on banks’ balance-sheets.

Regulators See New Role For Fannie, Freddie

03-29-2009 • Wall Street Journal

The regulator of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is considering giving the government-backed mortgage companies another role: helping to finance small mortgage banks.

Bank CEOs voice support for Obama's economic plans

03-28-2009 • Reuters

President Barack Obama won support from top bankers for his efforts to rid financial institutions of bad debts... [Well pip-pip, jolly good and tally-ho! Can we pass the collection plate now?]

Alan Greenspan Speaks

03-27-2009 • arclein

This article by Allan Greenspan needs no comment. The banking hole is close to two trillion dollars of which a third is plugged. The credit contraction is still ongoing and is only stalled because of no liquidity. This is well worth reading. Who is O

US plans to rein in Wall Street: New regulatory system

03/26/2009 • By BBC Business News

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has outlined far-reaching plans to strengthen government authority over the US financial system. The measures are designed to prevent the kind of systemic risk-taking among banks that has contributed to the cu

U.S., European Stocks Drop, Trimming Gains in Three-Week Rally

03-27-2009 • Bloomberg

U.S. and European stocks retreated, trimming a third-straight weekly advance for both markets, after lower oil and metal prices dragged down commodity producers and the U.K. economy contracted more than previously estimated.

Freddie Mac's Duel With Regulator: Does It Report Government's Role in Its Losses?

03-26-2009 • Washington Post

When Freddie Mac's executives concluded they had to disclose the government's management of the company was undermining its profitability and would cost it tens of billions of dollars, the firm's regulator urged it not to do so

More on the Geithner Put

03-26-2009 • YouTube

Even though the taxpayers (through the FDIC) are footing 93% of the bill, who would take a chance on banks' toxic assets? [Geithner Put

Geithner Calls for Major Overhaul of Financial Rules

03-26-2009 • NY Times

Included in the plan would be the establishment of one single agency “with responsibility for systemic stability over the major institutions and critical payment and settlement systems and activities.” To that end, Mr. Geithner said: “Financial pr

Dear AIG, I quit!

03-26-2009 • Yahoo News blog

Jake DeSantis, an executive VP at AIG, is quitting. AIG executive Jake DeSantis' resignation letter to Chief Executive Edward Liddy, the boss he has never met, was published in The New York Times and has created a firestorm across the Internet.

Nobody Wants Our Treasuries

03-26-2009 • Washington Post

But the rally lost steam and stocks dipped after an auction for $34 billion worth of five-year Treasury securities drew weaker demand than was expected. Those bidding on the Treasury securities were concerned about a number of factors

Extensive regulatory overhaul planned

03-25-2009 • NY Times

The Obama administration is proposing an extensive overhaul of financial regulations to increase oversight of such exotic instruments as credit default swaps that have been blamed for contributing to the worst financial crisis to hit the country in s

House panel endorses Obama's ambitious budget plan

03-25-2009 • AP

President Barack Obama's allies rallied around his ambitious budget blueprint as he visited the Capitol, and only hours later a House panel endorsed it, pointing the way for major legislation this year on health care, energy and education.

Ron Paul questions Bernanke on Capitalism 03/24/2009

03-25-2009 • Youtube

Nobody dresses down Bernanke like Paul.

FACT CHECK: Obama having it both ways on economy?

03-25-2009 • AP

The president's spending plans and deficit projections rest on the assumption that the economy will post solid growth next year after a mild, further decline this year. Many economists think that's too rosy. A look at some of his statements a

Michele Bachmann Questions Bernanke/Geithner

03-24-2009 • YouTube / CSPAN Junkie

MN Congresswoman Michele Bachmann questions Fed Chair Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. [with two more minutes, she would have made them both cry]

LET IT DIE: Rushkoff on the Economy

03-24-2009 • arthurmag.com via e-mail from Doug Nusbaum

"Using future tax dollars to give banks more money to lend out at interest is robbing from the poor to pay the rich to rob from the poor." YESSSSSS!

The Toxic Assets We Elected<br>by George F. Will

03-24-2009 • Washington Post

With the braying of 328 yahoos -- members of the House of Representatives who voted for retroactive and punitive use of the tax code to confiscate the legal earnings of a small, unpopular group -- still reverberating, the Obama administration invited

Family wants another law

03-24-2009 • AP

Jessica Logan's nude cell-phone photo - meant for her boyfriend's eyes only - was sent to hundreds of teenagers last year in at least seven Greater Cincinnati high schools.

Bailing Out the Rich

03-24-2009 • Conde Nast

The Troubled Asset Relief Program helps those banks that cater to the rich, which had no problem with subprime mortgages or other toxic assets.

Bank of America’s Bernstein Says Sell Bank Stocks After Rally

03-24-2009 • Bloomberg

Investors should sell bank stocks after they rallied 12 percent today because the Treasury Department’s plan to buy toxic assets won’t stop profits from dropping, Bank of America Corp.’s Richard Bernstein said.

IMF says clean up banks to tackle dire world crisis

03-24-2009 • Reuters

"The world is in a dire economic crisis, but no recovery is possible until the financial sector is cleaned up", says IMF. "The crisis will push millions into poverty and unemployment, risking social unrest and even war, and urgent acti

MONEYNETDAILY State considers return to gold, silver dollars Proposed bill slams Fed, allows payme

3/16/2009 • WorldNetDaily

A bill being considered in the Montana Legislature blasts the Federal Reserve's role in America's money policy and permits the state to conduct business in gold and silver instead of the Fed's legal tender notes.

U.S. Seeks Expanded Power to Seize Firms

03-23-2009 • Washington Post

The Obama administration is considering asking Congress to give the Treasury secretary unprecedented powers to initiate the seizure of non-bank financial companies, such as large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse would damage

Stocks surge on bank plan, rise in home sales

03-23-2009 • AP

Wall Street got the news it wanted on the economy's biggest problems — banks and housing — and celebrated by hurtling the Dow Jones industrials up nearly 500 points.