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

(NEWSER) - All the hubbub around AIG and its bonuses is “a complete farce,” Larry Kudlow writes in the National Review. No one should be surprised that those in charge have “completely bungled” the situation. “The government shouldn’t run anything, because it cannot run anything,” Kudlow writes. And the Obama administration was “undoubtedly informed” about the bonuses months ago. More»

Treasury secretary says he's done after election

(NEWSER) - Tim Geithner is pretty sure he's going to be joining the ranks of the jobless after the election: The Treasury secretary—the longest serving member of President Obama's economic team—tells Bloomberg that Obama is "not going to ask me to stay on, I’m pretty confident. I’m confident he’ll be president. But I’m also confident he’s going to have the privilege of having another secretary of the Treasury." The White House announced in August that Geithner would stay put through the election, amid Beltway rumblings that he would step down. More»

Adviser irked that Geithner, not he, has Obama's ear

(NEWSER) - Economics guru Larry Summers will be out the Obama administration by November’s election, or shortly thereafter, Joshua Green contends —mainly out of frustration that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and not he, has become President Obama’s go-to adviser in that area. Blogging for the Atlantic, Green notes that, after being passed over for the top spots at Treasury and the Federal Reserve, “Summers is frustrated by his role, and his colleagues are clearly frustrated with him.” More»

Jamie Dimon not in tune with Obama, too invested in big banks

(NEWSER) - A report today that JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has the inside track to replace Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary is getting mostly guffaws online, with even the conservative Wall Street Journal admitting that Dimon’s way too much an insider for the job just now. Indeed, chuckles Daniel Indiviglio , the New York Post story is “amusing” because, “for starters, Geithner isn’t going anywhere. Anyone who thinks he might be is nuts.” More»

Treasury chief's calendars show frequent contact with big players

(AP) - A look at Timothy Geithner's phone calendars show the Treasury secretary has maintained close ties with Wall Street executives he has known for years. Executives at Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and Citigroup can reach the nation's most powerful economic official at will. While there's nothing inherently wrong with keeping tabs on the market's biggest players, the calendars could offer fodder for critics who say Geithner is too close to firms he helped bail out. More»