Recession Fears Overblown: Economists

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  Mar 25, 08 11:21 AM CDT
  Certainly, the 8-month-old credit crisis is serious, but the market turmoil is unlikely to kick off the next Great Depression, financial markets editor Mike Dolan writes for Reuters. "You could be forgiven for thinking we will all soon be hoarding food and reverting to a barter economy," he snipes, but the real issue is psychological: "The problem is lack of confidence." More »

• Economy in 'Sharp Decline,' Paulson Admits

  Mar 19, 08 5:46 AM CDT
  Hank Paulson came closer than ever to conceding that the economy is in recession in a series of interviews yesterday, Reuters reports. Weary after a weekend in which he helped to broker Bear Stearns' fire sale to JPMorgan, the treasury secretary avoided the R-word but admitted: "There's no doubt that the American people know that the economy has turned down sharply. So to me much less important is the label that's placed on it today." More »

• Bernanke Looks Impotent as Fed's Fixes Fail

  Mar 17, 08 11:11 AM CDT
  Ben Bernanke has employed virtually every tool in the Federal Reserve's kit to calm markets panicked by the credit crisis, but hasn't scored any more than temporary rallies, Bloomberg reports in a look at the markets' fading faith in the Fed chief—and the Fed itself. "The Fed has been playing the equivalent of Whac-A-Mole,'' says a former Fed vice chairman. More »

• Stocks Rebound, Countering Selloff in Financials

  Mar 17, 08 10:17 AM CDT
  Stocks steadied after steep early morning losses today, with the Dow actually rising 1.06 points by mid-morning, the Wall Street Journal reports. But financials were still down big, as the Bear Stearns fire sale loomed large over the market. Lehman Brothers, down 22%, was hit the worst, other than Bear itself, which nosedived 87%. Still, at $3.79, it remained stubbornly above its $2 buyout price. More »

• Bernanke Tosses Out His Rule Book

  Mar 16, 08 9:19 AM CDT
  With a recession and worsening meltdown on Wall Street looming, Fed chief Ben Bernanke has dumped textbook central bank economic policy, reports the New York Times. Last week's bailout of Bear Stearns, for example, seemed to fly in the face of his previous reluctance to rescue big institutions. And it came in the same week the Fed made $200 billion available to investment banks and another $100 billion for banks and thrifts. More »