Treasury Department

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Feds Block Online Gambling
 Feds Block Online Gambling 
Nov 13, 2008 2:08 AM CST

Feds Block Online Gambling

New rule stops banks, credit card companies from processing bets

(Newser) - The Treasury Department and Federal Reserve will effectively outlaw most forms of online gambling with new rules that bar banks and credit card companies from processing transactions related to internet betting. The banking and gaming industry and House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank oppose the new rules, reports the Wall ...

Lobbyists Gobbling Up $700B Bailout
Lobbyists Gobbling Up $700B Bailout
Nov 12, 2008 7:51 AM CST

Lobbyists Gobbling Up $700B Bailout

There's not much left as everyone fights for piece of shrinking pie

(Newser) - That $700 billion allocated in this fall's federal bailout sounded like a lot of money—but after a feeding frenzy led by Washington lobbyists, there's not much cash left over, reports the New York Times. Of the first tranche of $350 billion, only $60 billion remains uncommitted, and everyone from...

US Pushes Banks for More Lending, Less Spending

Officials drafting guidelines to encourage banks to loan their bailout cash

(Newser) - Officials from several US banking regulators are finalizing guidelines for financial firms that will encourage them to lend more and curb executive pay, the Washington Post reports. The Treasury is taking $250 billion in equity stakes in various financial firms, but critics complain the firms are passing the taxpayer money...

Feds Under Pressure to Broaden Bailout

Treasury already needs to ask Congress for next $350B installment

(Newser) - With nearly half of the $700 billion bailout committed, a growing array of distressed companies is lobbying the government, the Wall Street Journal reports, increasing the likelihood the Treasury will ask Congress for the rest of the bailout cash soon. But varied interests among legislators and emerging unemployment risks could...

Feds Up AIG Aid to $150B; Insurer Posts $24.5B Loss

US scraps insurer's original $123 billion package as company's struggles continue

(Newser) - The $123 billion the US pledged to foundering insurance giant AIG will grow to at least $150 billion, reports the Wall Street Journal, as the company continues to hemorrhage money. AIG, which today reported a loss of $24.5 billion in its most recent quarter, will get more cash and...

Dems Push Paulson to Fund Big 3 Automakers

Pelosi, Reid want $700B bailout to aid GM, Ford, and Chrysler

(Newser) - Congressional Democrats are urging Henry Paulson to pump funds into the sputtering Big Three automakers, Politico reports. In a letter to the treasury secretary, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid called for a broadening of the $700 billion bailout package to help GM, Ford, and Chrysler qualify for federal aid. A...

Feds Aim to Push Bailout Beyond Traditional Banks

Finance-related firms working with Treasury, which also has eye on Obama transition

(Newser) - After taking ownership stakes in banks totaling $250 billion, the Treasury is preparing to broaden rescue efforts to include companies outside the banking sector, the Washington Post reports. Hundreds of billions of the $700 billion bailout package could go to relieve some institutions that, though not chartered as banks, borrow...

Firms Wary of Treasury's Stalled Toxic-Asset Bailout

As Treasury shifts gears from assets to equity stakes, firms shy away

(Newser) - A survey of more than 400 financial institutions found a large percentage are reluctant to participate in the $700 billion bailout program because of confusion, the Wall Street Journal reports. As Treasury hastily shifted gears from the original plan to buy toxic debt to taking equity positions in banks, more...

US May Buy Equity in More Firms

After seeing some thawing in key credit markets, Treasury may expand program

(Newser) - Treasury is considering using some of the $700 billion at its disposal to buy stakes in a range of financial companies beyond banks, the Wall Street Journal reports. The idea comes after seeing measured success in thawing credit markets by taking equity stakes in several banks. Treasury may also abandon...

Even Healthy Banks Eye Bailout Bucks

Institutions fear market will judge them harshly for not tapping into $700B pot

(Newser) - Investor and public pressure could prompt up to 1800 more financial institutions, both publicly and privately held, to apply for a share of the $700 billion bailout fund, the Wall Street Journal reports. The cash-grab likely stems from fear that failing to do so would make an institution look like...

US to GM on Merger Aid: Hit the Road

Chrysler merger uncertain after $10B request is nixed

(Newser) - A possible merger between GM and Chrysler is now up in the air since the Treasury Department refused late last week to grant GM’s plea for $10 billion to help finance the deal. Treasury officials are trying instead to fast-track a $25 billion loan program to help automakers get...

How Hank Paulson Blew $125B
 How Hank Paulson Blew $125B 
OPINION
Oct 31, 2008 9:15 AM CDT

How Hank Paulson Blew $125B

The banks have the cash, but why is everyone surprised they're not lending?

(Newser) - Not too long ago, critics from left and right were clamoring for Hank Paulson to abandon his plan buy up toxic mortgage-backed securities at auction to unlock credit markets. Instead, they argued, the government should give money directly to banks for them to lend. Too bad Paulson listened, writes Steven...

6 Governors Push Feds for Quicker Auto Industry Relief

Tight credit hurts car sales: Granholm

(Newser) - Michigan’s Jennifer Granholm and five other US governors urged federal officials today to act quickly in delivering financial aid to the auto industry, the Detroit Free Press reports. In a letter, the governors of Delaware, Kentucky, New York, Ohio and South Dakota stress that the credit crisis has hurt...

Feds Near $50B Plan to Guarantee 3M Mortgages

Treasury, FDIC working on measure to help avoid more foreclosures

(Newser) - The Treasury Department and the FDIC are working on a plan to guarantee the mortgages of 3 million struggling homeowners, the Washington Post reports. Under the plan, lenders would reduce monthly payments so owners could avoid foreclosure. If the homeowners defaulted anyway on the reconfigured loan, the government would repay...

Bailout Hits Hiring Hurdles Over Fees, Vetting

Low fees for managers and lack of Treasury manpower put brakes on bailout

(Newser) - Though the $700 billion bailout deal won approval Oct. 3, the Treasury has yet to begin purchasing bad loans that are poisoning the credit pool, due to delays in hiring financial firms to oversee the program, the Wall Street Journal reports. Concern over the fees that will be paid to...

You Got Your Bailout, Where Are Our Loans?
You Got Your Bailout, Where Are Our Loans?
OPINION
Oct 25, 2008 12:54 PM CDT

You Got Your Bailout, Where Are Our Loans?

Treasury trying to consolidate banking industry, not fix credit

(Newser) - When the Treasury was pushing its $700 billion bailout, it assured us that once banks had cash, they’d start lending. “I don’t know about you,” writes Joe Nocera in the New York Times, “but I’m starting to feel as if we’ve been sold...

Bailout Expands to Include Big Insurers

Feds look beyond AIG and banking industry to MetLife, others

(Newser) - The Treasury’s bailout is moving beyond banks to include major insurance firms hurt by bad investments, the Washington Post reports. Companies such as MetLife, the Hartford, and Prudential hope to be covered in the plan, under which the government would provide money in exchange for ownership stakes. Big insurers...

Treasury Hopes Bailout Will Spur Bank Mergers

Paulson seeks to reshape banking with new capital

(Newser) - Treasury's $250 billion cash infusion into financial institutions is meant to increase liquidity and get banks to start lending to each other again, but it might have another effect: accelerating mergers. The New York Times reports that the government's unprecedented recapitalization is also meant to give bigger banks the...

Toyota Offers Interest-Free Car Loans

Japanese giant capitalizing on US automakers' woes

(Newser) - Toyota is moving aggressively to fight slowing sales with a $250-million advertising campaign that offers zero-percent financing on 11 vehicles. The Japanese auto giant is flush with billions of dollars in cash and plans to use it to boost its market share, just as Ford, GM and Chrysler are at...

States Warn Feds They May Ask for Cash, Too

Deficits and tight credit may force states to beg for Treasury dollars

(Newser) - The credit crisis is threatening states with budget shortfalls, and they could be the next group seeking a federal bailout, the Christian Science Monitor reports. California, looking at a $7 billion deficit, has informed the Treasury that it could come calling. States take loans to cover lean times, in the...

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