Stories related to: Alan Greenspan

Ex-Fed chief Alan Greenspan and other high-profile economic bigwigs should take the lead in deciding whether the government should buy homes affected by the housing crisis, Hillary Clinton says. "As it has in the past, this kind of temporary measure by the government could give our economy the boost it needs and families the help they need," the candidate said today in Philadelphia. More »

Paulson & Co. made a fortune as the mortgage crisis unfolded, and now the hedge fund has hired the man some say caused the meltdown. Alan Greenspan, whose actions as chairman of the Fed have been under fire lately, today agreed to advise the firm, which saw one fund rise 590% on bearish housing plays and is betting things get worse, the Wall Street Journal reports. More »

The markets resumed last week’s downward spiral today, with the Dow diving 172.65 to 13,167.20 despite typically buoying news of major deals. The Nasdaq slid 61.28 to 2,574.46 and the S&P closed at 1,445.90, down 22.05. Alan Greenspan said he foresees a 50-50 chance of recession and warned of stagflation, the Journal reports. More »

Alan Greenspan warned yesterday that sluggish economic growth is increasing the risk of recession. "It's too soon to say, but the odds are clearly rising," the former Fed chief told NPR. The subprime crisis and its resulting credit turmoil has growth "getting close to stall speed," he said. More »

The US housing market crisis is not the result of Federal Reserve policies but part of a global phenomenon, former Fed chair Alan Greenspan says. "I have no particular regrets," he said yesterday in Oslo. "The housing bubble is not a reflection of what we did, as it is a global phenomenon," Bloomberg reports. More »

As the Fed rolls out another anxiously awaited decision on rate cuts, the Wall Street Journal does a play-by-play analysis of Ben Bernanke's handling of the three-month old credit crisis with an eye to what we've learned about the new Fed boss. For starters, he's more open and collaborative than his predecessor. "There's more of the economic seminar room, of exchanging views and thinking out loud," says a former adviser to both men.  More »

Some earn money; some write about it. Some do both. CNN Money recommends these six memoirs about money: getting it, managing it, spending it, and not having enough of it: The Age of Turbulence by Alan Greenspan Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre American Sucker by David Denby More »

Disappointed fiscal conservatives are less likely than ever to vote Republican, the Wall Street Journal reports, despite the GOP's designation as the pro-business party for more than a century. The Iraq war, ballooning debt, and right-wing social policy have all turned off business leaders—and as fiscal conservatives' support for Republicans wanes, the Democrats are moving in. More »

Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan lambastes President Bush and his own party  for disastrous economic policies in a memoir published next week. He criticizes the GOP for abandoning fiscal restraint while it had control of both Congress and the White House, the Wall Street Journal reports. Republicans in Congress, he writes, "swapped principle for power. They ended up with neither. They deserved to lose." More »

Alan Greenspan didn't see the subprime crunch coming, the former Fed chairman tells CBS' "60 Minutes." Greenspan also gave his successor a pat on the back, saying Ben Bernanke "is doing an excellent job." Some have suggested that Bernanke isn't acting as presciently as his predecessor; not so, says Greenspan—"I'm not certain I would have done anything different." More »

The Federal Reserve is facing a dilemma as it decides whether to ride to the rescue of  the market by slashing interest rates—and risk encouraging further recklessness and triggering an even worse crisis, reports the Wall Street Journal . The issue is what economists call moral hazard: protecting someone too well from consequences can encourage even riskier behavior. More »

Despite Alan Greenspan’s warning that the market was due for a correction, Shanghai’s stock market index topped 4000 today. So far this year the Chinese stock market has doubled. Since 2006 it has quadrupled. The main driving force behind the surge has been an odd form of democracy. More »

With inflation creeping up, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke will keep interest rates steady—at least for now, reports the Wall Street Journal. Soft business investment and weakening housing are becoming serious risks, but the long-term outlook is good, Bernanke told Congress yesterday. "The current stance of monetary policy is likely to foster sustainable economic growth and a gradual ebbing in core inflation." More »

Back when bankers and investors hung on his every word, Alan Greenspan was caution itself in public pronouncements . But yesterday the former chairman  took the rare step of predicting the onset of an out-and-out recession. Speaking via satellite to a business conference in Hong Kong, Greenspan said the US. economy has been expanding since 2001, and that the current slow down is probably not a temporary lag but the end of a cycle.                 More »