Edwards' affair drowns out talk of Russia on Sunday shows
Politico Aug 10, 08 6:26 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The buzz on John Edwards' love affair drowned out talk of Russia's conflict with Georgia on today's morning talk shows, Politico reports. On Fox News Sunday , an Obama campaign topdog said Bill Clinton is still reeling from his wife's primary loss, and Karl Rove claimed on Face the Nation that Obama would make "an intensely political choice, not a governing choice" for vice-presidential candidate.
More »
Treasury chief Henry Paulson has turned to intervention to calm markets
Los Angeles Times Jul 25, 08 1:15 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is in the midst of a reluctant about-face of his economic principles. The Los Angeles Times looks at how Paulson—a former chief executive at Goldman Sachs with a long history of faith in laissez-faire capitalism—has had to become the point man for the Bush administration's decidedly hands-on approach to fixing the nation's economic troubles.
More »
Leaders abandon deregulation for a hands on approach
Wall Street Journal Jul 25, 08 11:18 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
The Reagan Revolution, which ushered in a quarter century of deregulation, looks as if it's taken a stake in the heart, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Fed is offering tens of billions in emergency loans to failing banks, the SEC wants more power to regulate financial institutions, and the Treasury arranged JPMorgan’s purchase of Bear Stearns and then lobbyied Congress to prop up Fannie and Freddie. Is it dead, or just wounded, the Journal wonders.
More »
Measure that would allow feds to insure $300B in mortgages expected soon
Wall Street Journal Jul 23, 08 11:54 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
President Bush will support a housing package being considered in the Senate, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bush threatened to veto the bill, which includes as much as $300 billion of insurance for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but decided, given market turmoil, that now “is not the time for a prolonged veto fight” press secretary Dana Perino said today.
More »
But chance better than 50% feds won't need to step in: budget office
MarketWatch Jul 22, 08 12:39 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
A federal bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will cost $25 billion, the Congressional Budget Office said today, but there’s a better than 50% chance no rescue will be needed. The plan sought by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would extend an unlimited line of credit to the government-sponsored enterprises for the next 18 months, MarketWatch reports.
More »
But banking remains 'safe and sound'
Reuters Jul 20, 08 5:42 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
Henry Paulson sought to reassure Americans today that US banking is "sound" despite a growing list of troubled banks, Reuters reports. He also said the economy will stay slow for months, but expressed confidence that Congress will shore up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac before summer recess. "Congress understands how important these institutions are," he said on Face the Nation .
More »
Bernanke gives gloomy outlook for rest of 2008, but raises growth forecast
Bloomberg Jul 15, 08 1:08 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The US government won't be lending capital to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in the near future, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told a Senate committee today. "There are no immediate plans to access either the proposed liquidity or the proposed capital backstop,'' Paulson said, and any lending to the mortgage giants would be done "under terms and conditions that protect the US taxpayer," Bloomberg reports.
More »
MARKETS
Madcap weekend recasts Treasury Secretary in Clintonian mold
Wall Street Journal Jul 15, 08 9:16 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Henry Paulson had a very busy weekend. The treasury secretary had been formulating contingency plans for bailing out beleaguered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for weeks, but Friday’s crisis came before those plans were in place, the Wall Street Journal reports in a reconstruction of events leading to the rescue, culminating in the frenzied weekend scramble to negotiate the particulars with the Fed and Congress.
More »
ANALYSIS
Panic eases after turbulent trading, but big test is yet to come
Wall Street Journal Jul 12, 08 7:11 AM CDT
(Newser)
-
Fears of a collapse of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac finally eased yesterday after a stomach-churning rollercoaster ride that saw a 50% nosedive for the mortgage giants in early trading, writes the Wall Street Journal . A week of panic, prompted in part by reports that the government was preparing rescue scenarios, seem to have abated, as Fannie and Freddie were able to continue their regular borrowing. But a bigger test looms Monday when Freddie is due to sell $3 billion of short-term debt.
More »
MARKETS
Anxiety over Freddie, Fannie, plus higher crude, gives markets a bad day
Wall Street Journal Jul 11, 08 3:49 PM CDT
(Newser)
-
The markets saw losses today, battered by continued worries over the solvency of mortgage guarantors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and a fresh spike in crude prices, MarketWatch reports. The Dow fell 128.48, to 11,100.54. The Nasdaq shed 18.77, closing at 2,239.08, while the S&P 500 lost 13.90 to close at 1,239.49.
More »