Treasury Department – News Stories About Treasury Department - Page 11

Apr 15, 2009 4:00 AM CDT

Feds May Reveal Which Banks Are Weakest

Results of 'stress tests' may go public

(Newser) - The administration may go public with some of its "stress test" results, which diagnose how well the country's 19 biggest banks will weather the financial crisis, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal. The administration has so far been treating all banks equally, but the stronger banks could soon be...

Fed to Banks: Keep Quiet on Stress Tests

Apr 10, 2009 12:38 PM CDT

Fed to Banks: Keep Quiet on Stress Tests

Officials worry leaked results will cause market chaos

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is adopting a loose-lips-sink-ships policy when it comes to the “stress tests” being administered to big US financial firms. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and others have been ordered to keep quiet about their financial report cards, Bloomberg reports. Officials fear that should those results leak, investors would...

Dow Rises 246
on Rosy Bank News

MARKETS

Apr 9, 2009 3:23 PM CDT

Dow Rises 246 on Rosy Bank News

Rosy NYT report on Treasury 'stress tests' fuels risk appetite

(Newser) - Surging financial stocks spurred a broader rally today, the Wall Street Journal reports. A New York Times report that all 19 banks facing Treasury “stress tests” will pass boosted shares in a sector already buoyed by a strong Wells Fargo earnings forecast. The Dow rose 246.27 to close...

Bailout Honchos Weigh Toxic-Asset 'War Bonds'

Apr 9, 2009 8:11 AM CDT

Bailout Honchos Weigh Toxic-Asset 'War Bonds'

Treasury's new idea would allow private investors to profit from bailouts

(Newser) - Responding to charges the bank bailout privatizes profits while socializing losses, the Obama administration is exploring creating mutual-fund-type instruments that would allow private citizens to invest in toxic assets. The bailout funds, akin to war bonds, would allow the taxpayers who funded the bailout to profit along with Wall Street,...

US Extends Bailout
to Life Insurers

Apr 8, 2009 1:41 AM CDT

US Extends Bailout to Life Insurers

Treasury throwing a lifeline to a third industry

(Newser) - The Treasury Department has decided to give struggling life insurance companies access to federal bailout funds, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal. The industry—which had earlier seemed largely immune to the credit crisis—has been hit hard by stock market and real estate declines, leaving some firms on the...

Treasury Helps Companies Skirt Bailout Rules

Apr 4, 2009 9:12 AM CDT

Treasury Helps Companies Skirt Bailout Rules

(Newser) - The Obama administration has devised a maybe-legal method of avoiding Congress’ restrictions on companies that accept bailout funds, including limits on executive pay and a requirement that taxpayers get an ownership stake in the firms, the Washington Post reports. To sidestep the restrictions, the administration has created special entities to...

At NY Fed, Geithner Saw Risk, Didn't Act

investigation

Apr 3, 2009 10:35 AM CDT

At NY Fed, Geithner Saw Risk, Didn't Act

Legacy of missing red flags trails onetime regulator to Treasury

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner spent a lot of time thinking about the derivatives trade as president of the New York Federal Reserve—in 2005 he convinced banks to digitize the market, making it far more efficient. But he never convinced them to scale back risk and never exercised his powers to force...

Dow Up 87; Gains for March

MARKETS

Mar 31, 2009 3:20 PM CDT

Dow Up 87; Gains for March

Markets may be leveling out, though gains are fragile

(Newser) - Stocks posted gains today as the first quarter came to a close, the Wall Street Journal reports. While the April earnings season and the results of the Treasury’s stress tests threaten to shatter equities’ recent gains, signs of economic stabilization made March a relatively good month. The Dow rose...

In Bankruptcy Maneuver,
GM May Split in 2

Mar 26, 2009 10:36 AM CDT

In Bankruptcy Maneuver, GM May Split in 2

If GM faces Chapter 11, a splitting of the company could avert disaster

(Newser) - General Motors executives and Treasury officials alike seem adamant that the company should avoid Chapter 11 bankruptcy at all costs, but bankruptcy scenarios are already crystallizing behind the scenes, BusinessWeek reports. One option calls for splitting the company into a “good GM,” which would emerge from bankruptcy with...

This Rally May Be the Real Deal

OPINION

Mar 26, 2009 9:07 AM CDT

This Rally May Be the Real Deal

Positive indicators, better policy, historical benchmarks; the time is right for a bottom

(Newser) - The tentative rally on Wall Street is reason enough for one economist to feel hopeful: "I’m ready to take another shot at calling the bottom," writes Michael Mandel in BusinessWeek. Since (apparently) bottoming out March 9, stocks have risen 20%, and the reasons behind the climb are...

Geithner Pitches Overhaul
of Financial Oversight

UPDATED

Mar 26, 2009 12:19 AM CDT

Geithner Pitches Overhaul of Financial Oversight

(Newser) - Tim Geithner today proposed a major expansion of federal regulatory powers, reports the Washington Post. In testimony before Congress, the Treasury chief called for hedge funds, derivatives markets, private equity firms, and major insurers like AIG to be brought under strict federal supervision for the first time. His plan, which...

Dow Wavers, Finishes Up 90

MARKETS

Mar 25, 2009 3:07 PM CDT

Dow Wavers, Finishes Up 90

Poor Treasury auction saps some investor confidence

(Newser) - Stocks wavered today, with the indices posting gains but off session highs, the Wall Street Journal reports. A rise in durable-goods orders stoked an early rally, but enthusiasm was tempered by weak demand for US Treasuries in an auction. The Dow dipped into losses in the afternoon, but closed up...

Geithner Asks Congress
for Broad Takeover Powers

Mar 24, 2009 10:37 AM CDT

Geithner Asks Congress for Broad Takeover Powers

Defends actions during AIG bailout

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner today asked Congress for expanded power to take the helm of big, failing institutions like AIG and wind them down in an orderly fashion, Reuters reports. “AIG highlights broad failures of our financial system," Geithner said in unusually spirited testimony before the House Financial Services Committee....

Obama Needs
Help Selling
Economic Plans

ANALYSIS

Mar 24, 2009 10:36 AM CDT

Obama Needs Help Selling Economic Plans

His team lacks common touch

(Newser) - The White House economic team is great on policy, but when it comes to reassuring the public, President Obama is on his own, Peter Nicholas and Peter Wallsten write in the LA Times. "The ability to communicate with average people was not what these people were chosen for,"...

Don't Listen
to Krugman—
This Plan
Might Work

OPINION

Mar 24, 2009 7:51 AM CDT

Don't Listen to Krugman— This Plan Might Work

Pearlstein lays into fellow columnist

(Newser) - Even before the full details were released, critics were bashing the Treasury's public-private asset purchase plan; Paul Krugman predicted it would fail and lead the country into depression (not to speak of the writer into despair). Steven Pearlstein begs to differ, and the markets seem to agree. For the Washington ...

Feds Seek Expanded Power
to Seize Shaky Companies

Mar 24, 2009 6:00 AM CDT

Feds Seek Expanded Power to Seize Shaky Companies

Treasury sec should be able to seize non-bank firms, says administration

(Newser) - The Obama administration is expected to ask Congress for expanded powers that would let the Treasury secretary seize insurers, hedge funds, and other non-bank financial companies whose failure would imperil the economy, reports the Washington Post. While negotiations are ongoing, the plans to expand Treasury authority would represent a major...

Geithner Wins Over Wall Street

ANALYSIS

Mar 24, 2009 4:45 AM CDT

Geithner Wins Over Wall Street

Careful roll out of asset plan helps Treasury secretary get his credibility back

(Newser) - The carefully orchestrated roll out of the federal plan to buy toxic assets has won Tim Geithner Wall Street's support in the nick of time, Jackie Calmes writes in the New York Times. The Treasury secretary—whose plan was slammed when the "framework" was unveiled last month—could scarcely...

Hey Paul Krugman,
Your Country Needs You

OPINION

Mar 24, 2009 3:11 AM CDT

Hey Paul Krugman, Your Country Needs You

Why aren't you in the administration?

(Newser) - The latest video to shake up YouTube is a song plea that critical columnist Paul Krugman join the Obama administration and fix the economy. "Hey Paul Krugman, where the hell are you, man? Why aren't you in the administration?" sings songwriter Jonathan Mann. "When I listen to you...

Dow Rockets Nearly 500 Points

MARKETS

Mar 23, 2009 3:18 PM CDT

Dow Rockets Nearly 500 Points

Geithner's plan wins positive reviews from Street

(Newser) - Stocks locked in big gains today with the rally sparked by the rollout of the Treasury’s financial rescue plan, the Wall Street Journal reports. Financials led advances, with Citigroup and Bank of America up 24% and 19%, respectively. The Dow jumped 497.48 to 7,775.86. The Nasdaq...

Geithner:
'These
Policies
Will Work'

OPINION

Mar 23, 2009 7:00 AM CDT

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...