NEWS
By Ron Smith | May 1, 2009
The evidence mounts that the current economic troubles were set in motion because of systemic fraud. I keep thinking about Bernard L. Madoff's comment when F.B.I. agents were about to arrest him. Asked if he could explain what he had done in his Ponzi scheme, he replied, "There is no innocent explanation." Fact is, there is no innocent explanation for the actions of the financial elites and their bought-and-paid-for political lackeys. It's one thing for people like me to speak or write about the crimes that set this collapse in motion, but it's another and far more damaging thing to have well-placed experts in finance point the accusing finger at those responsible for the financial crisis.
NEWS
By Jim Puzzanghera and Walter Hamilton | March 27, 2009
The Obama administration is proposing the most far-reaching reforms of the financial industry since the Depression - including measures that would for the first time regulate hedge funds and give government the power to seize and dismantle companies deemed a threat to the economy. The measures, which must be approved by Congress, come in the wake of last fall's near-meltdown of the global banking system and in advance of next week's meeting of the Group of 20 economic powers. The key measures outlined by Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner on Thursday include: * Giving the Federal Reserve or another agency the authority to oversee the entire economy for signs of "systemic risk."
NEWS
February 1, 2009
President Barack Obama has vowed to reform financial regulations and tighten oversight of banks to prevent a repeat of the financial crisis that has plunged the U.S. economy into deep recession. It's a promise that must be kept because it is vital to re-establishing the trust of the American people in the stability of the financial institutions that provide the lifeblood of commerce. Members of Mr. Obama's economic team are expected to propose stricter federal rules for hedge funds, credit rating agencies and mortgage brokers, and greater oversight of the complex financial instruments that have contributed to the current economic crisis.
NEWS
January 14, 2009
Like the crew of a ship taking on water in the middle of a fierce storm, President-elect Barack Obama's financial advisers are facing a new threat that could derail or significantly impede their efforts to spark an economic recovery. The "too big to fail" financial institutions stabilized at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars last fall are facing trouble again, and members of Congress are hesitant about funding possible future rescues. Many lawmakers are angry, and they have a right to be - management of the first bailout has been sketchy and lacked accountability.
NEWS
December 31, 2008
A FGHANISTAN - The country, the conflict, the casualties overtook Iraq as the war on everyone's mind this year. With the death toll among Americans rising at an alarming rate and the Taliban forces resurgent, a question keeps repeating: How do we win? B AILOUT - This fall, with America's financial infrastructure crumbling, Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. persuaded Congress to appropriate $700 billion to help bail out troubled institutions. So far, $350 billion has been invested or lent to more than two dozen banks and financial institutions.
NEWS
October 3, 2008
Principles to govern a fair bailout bill As an ordinary citizen, I would like to put forth a series of points that I feel should be the basis for a plan to deal with the immediate and systemic causes of our current financial crisis ("Credit crunch," Oct. 1). * Bankruptcy judges should be permitted to modify the terms of a mortgage or write down the value of a loan for a primary residence that has not yet been foreclosed. * Extraordinary effort should be made by financial institutions that own bundled mortgages to identify each and every physical property owned to minimize fraud and demand accountability for asset ownership.
NEWS
September 26, 2008
'Bailout' is an effort to protect Main Street In "OK, so where's the Boscov bailout?" (Sept. 23), Dan Rodricks once again proves that he just doesn't get it. The government's proposal to buy back bad mortgage debt is not a "bailout" for greedy Wall Street firms that made wrong bets. To the contrary, it is a bold and aggressive action intended to save the entire American economy from the painful contraction that could ensue if the current collapse of confidence in financial markets is allowed to continue unabated.
NEWS
By New York Times News Service | September 20, 2008
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration, moving to prevent an economic cataclysm, urged Congress yesterday to grant it far-reaching emergency powers to buy hundreds of billions of dollars of distressed mortgages despite many unknowns about how the plan would work. Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. made it clear that the upfront cost of the rescue proposal could easily be $500 billion, and outside experts predicted that the bill could reach $1 trillion. The outlines of the plan, described in conference calls to lawmakers yesterday, include buying only from U.S. financial institutions - but not hedge funds - and hiring outside advisers who would work for the Treasury, rather than creating a separate agency.
NEWS
By Jamie Smith Hopkins | April 12, 2008
Baltimore-based Provident Bankshares Corp., facing multimillion-dollar losses in a souring credit environment, said yesterday that it is cutting by two-thirds its dividend to shareholders and raising $115 million from investors to strengthen its financial position. It is the latest in a long line of banks that nationwide have been stung by the rapid deterioration in the housing and financing markets. As home prices fall and foreclosures rise, more financial institutions have needed infusions of cash - and not all have been able to get them.
NEWS
By New York Times News Service | January 16, 2008
NEW YORK -- Citigroup, the nation's largest bank, reported a staggering fourth-quarter loss of $9.83 billion yesterday and issued a sobering forecast that the housing market and the broader economy still had not bottomed out. To shore up their finances, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch & Co., which has also been rocked by the subprime mortgage debacle, both were forced again to go hat in hand for cash infusions from investors in the United States, Asia and...