financial crisis

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Krugman in 'Despair' Over Toxic Asset Plan

Dressing up Paulson's failed solution is no solution at all

(Newser) - Paul Krugman has been downbeat for weeks on the Obama efforts to rescue the economy, but today he hits a new low. “This is more than disappointing. In fact, it fills me with a sense of despair,” writes Krugman in the New York Times of the White House...

Free Trade Under Fire as Protectionism Surges

November's G-20 agreement is abandoned as nations erect commerce barriers

(Newser) - The global recession has protectionism making a comeback, the New York Times reports, dimming hopes that leaders can create lasting solutions to the crisis at April’s Group of 20 economic summit in London. The last G-20 meeting, held in November, yielded an agreement to promote free trade that was...

Euro Bank Chief Slams US on Stimulus

Central bank chief says nations must get the last effort right

(Newser) - The head of the European Central Bank says the continent does not need to spend more to combat recession, heightening the standoff between Washington and European governments over response to the financial crisis. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Jean-Claude Trichet said governments should concentrate on executing measures...

Treasury Unveils $1T Plan to Clean Up Toxic Assets

Three-part program will push investors to buy toxic assets

(Newser) - The Treasury unveiled its three-part Public-Private Investment Program today, reports the Wall Street Journal. Under the program, up to $100 billion in TARP funds will be partnered with private investments to buy troubled assets. The Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC will work with hedge funds and private equity to try...

Geithner: 'These Policies Will Work'

Treasury sec lays out $1T plan in op-ed

(Newser) - Tim Geithner caps a weekend of lobbying for the administration's $1 trillion Public-Private Investment Program in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, arguing that "the financial system as a whole is still working against a recovery." For the Treasury secretary, all the previous measures will fail...

Feds Look for Privately Funded $1T Bailout

Geithner talks up private capital ahead of today's announcement

(Newser) - The Treasury today unveils its three-part public-private plan to purchase $1 trillion in troubled assets, offering lucrative subsidies to private investors to encourage them to participate. The Obama administration spent the weekend wooing hesitant private investors—hedge funds, private equity firms, and sovereign wealth funds—who fear future regulation or...

Feds Seize Wholesale Credit Unions

Regulators move to stabilize credit union industry as condition reaches critical

(Newser) - Federal regulators have taken control of two major wholesale credit unions, which provide services to thousands of credit unions nationwide, to stabilize the industry, Bloomberg reports. The institutions, which have combined assets of $57 billion, failed the so-called stress test, showing an unacceptably high level of risk from mortgage-backed securities....

Toxic Asset Plan to Offer Subsidies to Investors

Plan will offer loans, subsidies to investors willing to suck up bad assets

(Newser) - The Treasury will unveil a plan to take up to $1 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and other troubled assets from financial institutions early next week, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plan, the cornerstone of efforts to rescue the banking system, calls for the creation of an entity to buy...

Frank Targets Fannie, Freddie Execs' Bonuses

(Newser) - Executives at government-owned mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are scheduled to receive six-figure retention bonuses, but Barney Frank wants the payments canceled, MarketWatch reports. “In this troubled economy, and in this job market, it is difficult to imagine that the companies would not be able to find...

Suze Orman: Bush Owes America Every Cent He Has

Money guru is willing to scold everyone over this financial crisis

(Newser) - Chances are, Suze Orman disapproves of how you've handled your finances. She's said as much in her dozens of television appearances in the past months, becoming big enough for SNL to parody her. ("The greatest honor of my career.") Women's Wear Daily looks at how Orman became...

AIG Execs Face Fury of Angry Public

Amid death threats, some are returning hefty bonuses

(Newser) - The AIG scandal has turned company execs from pillars of their communities into dastardly villains, reports the New York Times. Witness James Haas—or Jackpot Jimmy as the New York Post calls him. "I didn’t have anything to do with those credit problems,” says Haas, who fought...

Let's Downsize Our Outrage
 Let's Downsize Our Outrage 
OPINION
Mar 20, 2009 7:56 AM CDT

Let's Downsize Our Outrage

(Newser) - It’s time to put down the pitchforks, writes Steven Pearlstein in the Washington Post. Public outrage is getting so hot that it’s actually undermining government efforts to contain the financial crisis. Right now, the Treasury is desperately trying to lure private capital back into the so-called shadow banking...

Wal-Mart Gives Workers $2B in Bonuses, Rewards

(Newser) - The recession has been kind to Wal-Mart, and it’s decided to share the wealth with the wage slaves. The mega-discounter will dole out about $2 billion in financial incentives to its hourly workers, Reuters reports, including $933.6 million in bonuses and $788.8 million in profit-sharing and 401(k)...

Some Spending Hard to Trim in 'Guilt Economy'

Many shell out to ensure favorite businesses survive

(Newser) - Charitable contributions are down in a tough economy—but that may not mean people are feeling less philanthropic. Feeling too guilty to let the masseuse go under or a favorite shop die, many who can afford it are spending in an effort to help those around them, the Wall Street ...

Anger? Now That Would Be a Bonus
Anger? Now That Would
Be a Bonus
OPINION
Mar 19, 2009 10:28 AM CDT

Anger? Now That Would Be a Bonus

'Baby' Geithner, Obama should be more worked up over AIG: Collins

(Newser) - Thank meek Tim Geithner for the wrath coming from the New York Times today. “We need a Treasury secretary so terrifying that if you were stuck in an elevator alone with him, you would just hand over your wallet,” Gail Collins writes. “And I’m totally angry...

Fannie Mae's Task: Sell 65K Homes in Buyer's Market

Unloading homes quickly while maintaining value, Fannie walks tightrope

(Newser) - It’s no secret that for US homeowners, it’s not a seller’s market. But imagine having 65,000 properties to sell. That’s the task ahead of Fannie Mae, NPR reports, as its volume of repossessed homes grows by the day. The guarantor of a third of all...

New Jobless Claims Fall More Than Expected

But continuing claims at record high for 8th straight week

(Newser) - New jobless claims fell more than expected last week, but continuing claims set a new record for the eighth straight week and few economists expect the labor market to improve anytime soon. The Labor Department says the tally of initial requests for unemployment insurance dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 646,000...

FedEx Earnings Dive 75%
 FedEx Earnings Dive 75% 
Earnings
Mar 19, 2009 7:52 AM CDT

FedEx Earnings Dive 75%

(Newser) - FedEx net income plunged 75% in the third quarter, the company announced today, a bad sign for economists who consider the shipping giant a bellwether. FedEx also announced plans to cut $1 billion in costs, though it didn’t detail how many job cuts that might entail. The company has...

In Japan, Tough Times Send Women to the Altar

Women turn to marriage as route to financial stability

(Newser) - In Japan, when the economy tanks, marriage—and two paychecks—starts to look more attractive to working women, reports Bloomberg. “I want to get married soon, hopefully by the end of this year,” says one Tokyo woman. “I’d be more stable financially if I had double...

Fed Nearly Exhausts Options
 Fed Nearly 
 Exhausts Options  
Analysis
Mar 18, 2009 8:53 AM CDT

Fed Nearly Exhausts Options

With rates at 0%, politically unsavory buying program only tool left

(Newser) - The Fed is almost sure to leave the federal funds rate alone today, mostly because, at about 0%, it literally can’t go any lower. So with deflation still looming, what’s Ben Bernanke to do? One Goldman Sachs analyst says the Fed needs to shave the equivalent of 8...

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