Greenspan to Government: Hands Off

Skilled immigrants would help end slump, he says

(NEWSER) - Alan Greenspan said housing prices could continue to edge lower through 2009, but should “stabilize or touch bottom” in the first six months of the year, reports the Wall Street Journal. And, the former Fed chief says, while a government bailout of Freddie Mac and Fannie May was the right thing to do, the companies should have been nationalized. More»

Reform plans may hand regulation over to fervent deregulators

(NEWSER) - There's a lot riding on reform of the financial industry, but the administration's plans to overhaul financial regulation carries the seeds of its own destruction, writes Thomas Frank. Taking oversight away from the present confusing array of agencies and making the Federal Reserve One Big Regulator means that when the administration changes, regulation could end up in the deregulation-happy hands of someone like Alan Greenspan, Frank writes in the Wall Street Journal. More»

Former Fed chairman denies responsibility, blames human nature

(NEWSER) - Another financial crisis is inevitable "unless somebody can find a way to change human nature," says Alan Greenspan in an interview with the BBC. The former Fed chairman—who has faced stinging criticism for his own role in precipitating the 2008-09 global recession—denied any responsibility for the crisis, saying that it was "a once-in-a-century type of event." But he also complained that bankers were systematically underpricing risk and "at some point a correction would be made." More»

Oversight measures aim for 'minimum' to avoid meltdown

(NEWSER) - Today Barack Obama will announce a major financial reform package that will give the Fed, Treasury, and FDIC new powers of regulation and oversight. It's the most substantial shift in financial regulations since the 1930s—but stops short of some of the most radical proposals, including tough limits on derivatives trading. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the president says he wants a "relatively light touch," but that Washington needs to "guard against huge systemic risk." More»

(NEWSER) - Even as the financial crisis rages, Ben Bernanke says it’s time for broad regulatory reforms to stem future crises. Bernanke said today “too big to fail” institutions should be more tightly watched, perhaps by his Federal Reserve. He also admitted that the US hadn’t been prudent with the glut of capital that poured into the market in recent years, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»