Treasury Department

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Two Voices, One Economic Plan
 Two Voices, One Economic Plan 
ANALYSIS
Mar 2, 2009 8:20 AM CST

Two Voices, One Economic Plan

Geithner and Summers speak loudly, cohesively, driving Obama's agenda

(Newser) - Among the policymaking din at the White House, the voices of Larry Summers and Tim Geithner have emerged as the loudest—and generally in unison, the Washington Post reports. The duo first teamed up to battle financial crises in Asia and Mexico in the mid-‘90s at the Treasury Department;...

AIG Posts Record Loss, Gets 4th Lifeline of $30B

Insurer loses $62 billion in Q4 and may break up

(Newser) - AIG posted a quarterly loss of $62 billion today—the largest in American history—following news that Washington will provide an additional $30 billion in cash to the insurer and loosen the terms on previous loans. The Treasury and Fed have now intervened four times to prop up AIG, reports...

Vetting Process Leaves Agencies Understaffed

Stimulus increases workload, but senior posts vacant

(Newser) - President Obama’s nominee vetting process is making it hard for federal agencies to get to work on new projects, the Boston Globe reports. Of about 500 senior positions, only 70 have been filled. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem, but the passage of the stimulus package “may...

US to Take 36% Stake in Citi
 US to Take 36% Stake in Citi 
UPDATED
Feb 27, 2009 6:57 AM CST

US to Take 36% Stake in Citi

Treasury will take up to 40% of bank in return for boardroom overhaul

(Newser) - Citigroup and the federal government have reached a deal to boost the US stake in the bank to up to 40%, the parties announced this morning. The deal gives shareholders more protection, but in return, agrees to a Treasury Department demand for an overhaul of the embattled bank's board of...

Big Banks Up; Dow Down 80
 Big Banks Up; Dow Down 80 
MARKETS
Feb 25, 2009 3:17 PM CST

Big Banks Up; Dow Down 80

Troubled financials boosted by Bernanke comments, Treasury plan

(Newser) - Stocks suffered modest losses today, though prominent financial institutions gained, the Wall Street Journal reports. Details of the Treasury’s “stress tests” and comments from Ben Bernanke disavowing nationalization buoyed Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo—but another dismal home-sales report depressed the broader market. The Dow fell...

Would-Be 'Car Czar' to Head Auto Task Force

Obama taps financier Rattner as lead in GM, Chrysler restructuring

(Newser) - Steven Rattner has been named chief adviser to the panel tasked with restructuring GM and Chrysler, Reuters reports. The financier was considered the frontrunner to be "car czar" before President Obama opted for a panel rather than a single chief. Rattner, who will leave the private equity firm...

Obama's Auto Team Drives Foreign Cars

Just 2 of task force's 8 members own domestic models

(Newser) - Detroit’s Big Three might be in worse trouble than they thought: Of the eight people on the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, and the 10 policy aides assisting them, just two own cars built by American-owned manufacturers, the Detroit News reports. The co-chairs—Timothy Geithner and Lawrence...

Bailed-Out Banks Cut Lending
 Bailed-Out Banks Cut Lending 
Feb 18, 2009 3:15 AM CST

Bailed-Out Banks Cut Lending

Report finds that bailout funds have failed to jolt banks into boosting lending

(Newser) - The 20 largest banks that received billions in  US government rescue funds slightly reduced their lending to consumers and businesses in the last quarter of 2008, the government said yesterday. Banks cut their mortgage and business loans by a median of 1% each, while credit card lending rose by a...

Last-Minute Switch Doomed Geithner Speech
Last-Minute Switch Doomed Geithner Speech
ANALYSIS
Feb 17, 2009 9:47 AM CST

Last-Minute Switch Doomed Geithner Speech

Old plan went bad, new one wasn't ready; he had to stay vague

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was supposed to ride in on a white steed and save our financial system—only as he made his charge, the would-be knight got thrown from his horse and landed with a thud. Now the Washington Post reports that Geithner changed course only days before rolling...

Geithner's Not Reassuring Anyone
 Geithner's Not 
 Reassuring 
 Anyone 
Opinion Roundup
Feb 11, 2009 8:43 AM CST

Geithner's Not Reassuring Anyone

They're not buying it, Tim

(Newser) - The financial world was desperate for answers yesterday, but what Timothy Geithner delivered “was a work in progress,” says the Washington Post editorial board, “more a concept than a plan, really.” It was like “Geithner at the Improv,” the Wall Street Journal agrees. Markets...

Brutal Day Puts Geithner on the Defensive
Brutal Day Puts Geithner
on the Defensive
analysis
Feb 10, 2009 8:49 PM CST

Brutal Day Puts Geithner on the Defensive

(Newser) - It's safe to say the honeymoon's over for Tim Geithner. The Treasury chief—whose very appointment way back when gave the market a lift—spent all day on the defensive after unveiling the administration's economic plan, writes Emily Kaiser of Reuters. Wall Street tanked, interviewers dogged him with questions about...

Geithner Unveils New Bank Plan
 Geithner Unveils New Bank Plan 
Feb 10, 2009 10:33 AM CST

Geithner Unveils New Bank Plan

(Newser) - Attempts to revive the banking industry so far have been “inadequate,” Timothy Geithner said today, promising to “fundamentally reshape” the government’s plan to rescue banks, driven by more forceful action. “We want their balance sheets cleaner and stronger,” Geithner said. To do it, he’...

Geithner Wins Tug-of-War for Hands-Off Bailout

Treasury secretary resists calls for firmer government intervention

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has prevailed over top administration officials who sought tougher restrictions on financial institutions in the revamped bailout plan to be unveiled today, reports the New York Times. Geithner, pointing to failures in countries that adopted more interventionist measures, successfully resisted calls to dictate how the cash...

New Bailout Plan Hinges on Private Investors

Treasury will set 'floor price' on distressed assets to lure buyers

(Newser) - The Treasury's latest plan to rescue the banking industry relies heavily on private-sector investors, the New York Times reports. The government will guarantee a floor price on the toxic assets weighing down banks’ balance sheets, encouraging hedge funds, private equity groups, and even insurers to buy them. The plan should...

Geithner Delays Bank Bailout Until Tuesday

Treasury Department focuses on pushing stimulus through Congress

(Newser) - The Treasury Department will wait until Tuesday to unveil the next bank bailout while lawmakers and President Obama debate their multibillion-dollar stimulus plan, the New York Times reports. “With record high job losses, and weakening economic forecasts, we’re focused on working with Congress to pass an economic recovery...

Panel: Paulson Overpaid for Bank Stocks

Treasury spent $254B for a $176B value, Congress learns

(Newser) - Henry Paulson overpaid for the preferred stock he bought from banks with TARP funds, after promising Congress he wouldn’t, a congressional oversight panel says. The government handed banks $254 billion in exchange for stock that was then worth just $176 billion, the Washington Post reports. “Treasury simply did...

Bailout Firms Lobbied Big Time for TARP Funds

Spending on charities, sponsored meetings topped $330,000

(Newser) - Several of the firms who would receive taxpayer funds from the TARP bailout spent money on meetings and charitable gifts that benefited lawmakers, the Hill reports. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for example, donated $330,000 in the last 6 months of 2008 to politically affiliated charities. Bank of America,...

Obama: $18B in Wall Street Bonuses 'Shameful'

President says he, Geithner will press executives on issue

(Newser) - President Obama denounced huge bonuses to Wall Street executives as “the height of irresponsibility” given the country’s economic hardship, the AP reports. Responding to news that financial firms paid out $18 billion in bonuses last year, Obama described the firms’ actions as “shameful” and vowed that he...

Team Obama Nixes Citi's Private Jet Buy

Treasury tells bailed-out bank to ditch $50M plane

(Newser) - Hours after the New York Post trumpeted Citigroup's plan to go through with the purchase of $50 million, French-made private jet yesterday, Citigroup got a call from Treasury telling the bank to think again. The Obama administration has made a lot of noise about enforcing accountability on bailout funds, Politico...

Big Banks' Lending Drops Despite Bailout Cash
Big Banks' Lending Drops
Despite Bailout Cash
ANALYSIS
Jan 26, 2009 10:23 AM CST

Big Banks' Lending Drops Despite Bailout Cash

Banks say funds can't go straight to loans, and recession cuts down on would-be borrowers

(Newser) - Lending is down at some of the biggest beneficiaries of the $148 billion the Treasury hoped would get US banks lending again, the Wall Street Journal reports. Of 13 banks to receive major government backing, 10 saw a decline in their outstanding loan balances between the third and fourth quarters...

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