Federal Reserve

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Central Banks Scramble to Feed Cash Into Markets

Biz slows as bailout talks stall

(Newser) - The world's central banks are frantically spraying money into the economy to prevent it from seizing up as the US bailout package stalls and confidence plummets, Reuters reports. The holdup in Washington has made edgy commercial banks even more inclined to hoard cash and not lend to each other—leaving...

Sovereign Funds, Foreign Leaders Sitting Out Bailout

Sovereign wealth funds, foreign leaders say US needs to sort out own mess

(Newser) - Sovereign wealth funds that were eager to snap up US assets earlier this year are staying on the sidelines now, as the US crafts a massive financial rescue plan aimed at breaking up the logjams that have frozen credit markets, the Washington Post reports. Despite pleas from Treasury Secretary Henry...

Wrangle Over $700B Bailout Heats Up
Wrangle Over $700B Bailout Heats Up
Sep 23, 2008 6:58 AM CDT

Wrangle Over $700B Bailout Heats Up

Lawmakers seek pay caps, homeowner help, as doubts mount

(Newser) - Congress and the Bush administration are edging closer to an agreement on a bailout for financial firms—but several major sticking points remain, the New York Times reports. Progress has been made on oversight for the $700-billion fund, but lawmakers are pushing for taxpayers to get an equity stake in...

Fed Loosens Reins on Private Funds Buying Into Banks

But some worry risky loans will result

(Newser) - The Fed has loosened the rules that curtailed private investments in banks, the Wall Street Journal reports. The move may inject more cash into the financial system—if private equity chooses to invest—but will raise fears of profit-hungry investors snapping up stakes in banks to make quick cash with...

SEC Chair Cox Fiddled as US Markets Burned
SEC Chair Cox Fiddled as US Markets Burned
ANALYSIS
Sep 22, 2008 3:22 PM CDT

SEC Chair Cox Fiddled as US Markets Burned

'Exceedingly cautious' approach had Paulson looking to kill agency

(Newser) - With US markets in upheaval, the head of the watchdog Securities and Exchange Commission was preoccupied with a new technology for corporate filing, Bloomberg reports. Christopher Cox’s inaction has provoked bipartisan criticism: McCain adviser Carly Fiorina said he has been “asleep at the switch,” while Democratic Sen....

European Central Bank Puts $40B More Into Market

With money markets still moribund, the ECB acts to stimulate lending

(Newser) - The European Central Bank is promising another $40 billion influx of cash to help shore up fluttering money markets among banks on the continent, reports the AP. The ECB said it will announce its lending rate and the number of bidders later today.

Bernanke, Paulson Put Fear of God Into Pols

Of meeting with officials, lawmaker says: 'We have never heard language like this'

(Newser) - Lawmakers were astounded at the possible fallout of the crisis on Wall Street outlined last night by Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the New York Times reports. “When you listened to him describe it you gulped,” New York Sen. Charles Schumer said of the...

Paulson's New Plan: Buy Bad Wall Street Debt

Treasury chief pushes creation of agency; news lifts markets

(Newser) - The US government is considering the creation of a federal institution that would buy up bad debt from struggling Wall Street concerns, CNBC reports. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is reportedly pushing the proposal around Washington. By relieving financial institutions of toxic debt, they could return to lending money as per...

Late Rally Lands Dow Up 410
 Late Rally Lands Dow Up 410 
MARKETS
Sep 18, 2008 3:25 PM CDT

Late Rally Lands Dow Up 410

Fed may have plan to quarantine bad debt; banks see gains

(Newser) - The markets rallied late in today’s rollercoaster session, keying on a $360 billion plan to shore up money markets and reports that the Fed might form a government body to absorb firms’ bad credit bets, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow gained 410.03 to close at 11,...

Stocks Jump at Bell on Central Bank Cash

Dow up 140

(Newser) - Stocks surged at the opening bell this morning, as traders registered approval of the central banks’ move to inject $360 billion into global money markets. The Dow jumped 118 points, while the S&P and Nasdaq rose 1.6% and 2% respectively. “These joint interventions are welcomed by the...

Crisis 'Going to Last a Lot Longer'
 Crisis 'Going to 
 Last a Lot Longer' 
ANALYSIS
Sep 18, 2008 7:19 AM CDT

Crisis 'Going to Last a Lot Longer'

The ills of the banking sector are spreading to industries previously thought resistant

(Newser) - The “worst financial crisis since the Great Depression” is spiraling downward and we may not have hit bottom yet, reports the Wall Street Journal in a look at how the subprime contagion has spread beyond its banking hosts, infiltrating sectors previously thought to be immune. “I think it’...

Central Banks Throw $360B Lifeline
 Central Banks 
 Throw $360B Lifeline 
UPDATED
Sep 18, 2008 4:34 AM CDT

Central Banks Throw $360B Lifeline

Effects of worldwide effort on markets still unfolding

(Newser) - The Fed has joined forces with central banks in Europe, Japan and Canada to pump more dollars into the global financial system in a bid to fend off economic catastrophe, Bloomberg reports. The funds—$180 billion from the Federal Reserve and nearly as much from the other banks—are being...

Bailouts Blast Fed Into Uncharted Territory

Central bank's new roles stretch balance sheet to the limit

(Newser) - The Fed's mammoth bailout of financial firms is unprecedented in the history of the central bank, which now must play new and contradictory roles, the New York Times reports. The Fed has often been called the nation's lender of last resort—but the acquisition of AIG and holding of Bear...

What Is AIG? (Now That We Own It)
What Is AIG?
(Now That We Own It)
Sep 17, 2008 9:49 AM CDT

What Is AIG? (Now That We Own It)

From aircraft leasing arm to wealth management group

(Newser) - For one thing, the insurance behemoth the Federal Reserve just acquired for $85 billion is profitable, explains the New York Times. AIG, which started out insuring assets in Asia, is wildly diversified and sprawling globally. Businesses range from retirement plans in the US to life insurance in the Philippines to...

Why AIG Got a Bailout (and Lehman Didn't)
 Why AIG Got a Bailout 
 (and Lehman Didn't) 
ANALYSIS
Sep 17, 2008 7:40 AM CDT

Why AIG Got a Bailout (and Lehman Didn't)

Credit default business dooms, saves giant

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve seemed to draw a hard line against bailouts with Lehman Bros., but just days later it stepped over that line to save AIG. Why?  First, says Time: Size. Its implosion would have been "as close to an extinction-level event" as we've been since the Depression. But...

Pols Pitch Federal Agency to Take On Bad Debt

Agency would formalize what feds are already doing in money crisis

(Newser) - The idea of creating a federal agency to dispose of the toxic debt at the heart of the credit crisis is gaining traction in Washington, the New York Times reports. The proposed agency would resemble one set up in 1989 to resolve the savings and loan crisis—but in a...

Fluctuating Markets Close Up
 Fluctuating Markets Close Up 
MARKETS
Sep 16, 2008 3:17 PM CDT

Fluctuating Markets Close Up

Dow returns to 11K-plus territory

(Newser) - As AIG's future became somewhat clearer, the wildly fluctuating markets settled into positive territory at the end of today's session. Rumors that the Fed will bail out the mega-insurer helped nearly erase a 74% decline, Bloomberg reports. The Dow closed up 141.51 at 11,059.02, the Nasdaq gained...

Fed Holds Line on Interest Rates; Markets Bounce

Committee leaves rate at 2%, confounding investors' expectations

(Newser) - In its first unanimous interest rate decision in a year, the Federal Reserve voted today to leave its key interest rate unchanged at 2%. The decision reflects regulators' unwillingness to get even more involved in the developments roiling the financial markets, the Wall Street Journal reports. Stocks fell triple-digits on...

Paulson Played Cards Well in High-Stakes Showdown
Paulson Played Cards Well
in High-Stakes Showdown
ANALYSIS
Sep 16, 2008 12:27 PM CDT

Paulson Played Cards Well in High-Stakes Showdown

Paulson, remaining banks struggle to pull the market back together

(Newser) - Cue the Kenny Rogers, suggests Steve Pearlstein in the Washington Post; “Hank Paulson knows when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em.” Paulson was so determined not to commit federal dollars to bail out Lehman Bros. that when the banks said they couldn't step in...

Speculation on New Fed Rate Cut Tempers Losses
Speculation on New Fed
Rate Cut Tempers Losses
MARKETS
Sep 16, 2008 10:44 AM CDT

Speculation on New Fed Rate Cut Tempers Losses

Stocks dip early, then tick closer to even ahead of mid-afternoon announcement

(Newser) - Stocks swung upward after big opening losses today, the Wall Street Journal reports, helped by speculation that the Federal Reserve might step in to help AIG and cut interest rates. The Dow, down 155 early, was just barely negative before noon, with a similar pattern from other indices. “We're...

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