Bush administration 'creatively working'
on financial crisis
ABC News Nov 17, 08 9:00 PM CST
(Newser)
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On the eve of his testimony before Congress, beleaguered Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson used last night's speech to defend the administration's response to the nation's "unprecedented" financial crisis. Paulson said without the $700 billion Wall Street bailout, things would be even worse, ABC News reports. "It's hard to get credit for what didn't happen," he said.
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Finance minister pushes power of the positive
Australia's News Network Nov 12, 08 3:31 PM CST
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Australia's finance minister apparently didn't see what happened to Phil Gramm last summer when he declared that the US economic slowdown was "mental" and called Americans a "nation of whiners." The recession would disappear, said Ken Henry, if Australians would just buck up, Australia’s News Network reports. “Fundamentally what is driving weaker economic outcomes globally at the moment is fractured confidence,” Ken Henry said. “We can talk ourselves into worse outcomes; of course we can. People do; it wouldn’t be the first time.”
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Democrats divided on pick
Politico Nov 7, 08 12:55 PM CST
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The top candidates to become Treasury secretary, Larry Summers and Timothy Geithner, have Democrats split, and Politico looks at the resumes of both. Summers is a brilliant economist and close Obama adviser, but hardly smells of change, having backed deregulation and free-market strategies as Clinton’s Treasury chief. He's supposedly become more progressive since leaving government, though he caused a ruckus as Harvard president by suggesting women were inherently weak in math.
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UPDATED
Team of economic advisers already mapping out plan
Reuters Nov 7, 08 4:30 AM CST
(Newser)
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Barack Obama isn't wasting any time in tackling the financial crisis, Reuters reports. The president-elect is meeting today with his new 17-strong team of economic advisers—and will hold his first press conference since his election victory at 2:30 EST. Wall Street has plummeted 10% in the last two days and markets are expected to react swiftly to Obama's announcements.
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Decision paves the way for another former Secretary, Lawrence Summers
Bloomberg Nov 6, 08 2:50 PM CST
(Newser)
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Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, a top economic adviser to Barack Obama during the campaign, will not reprise that Cabinet role in the new administration, Bloomberg reports. “I've spoken with him and told him I'm not interested in going back into government,” Rubin said today. His denial boosts the chances of another former Treasury chief, former Harvard president Larry Summers.
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Treasury chief may be announced today as transition gears up
Washington Post Nov 6, 08 4:20 AM CST
(Newser)
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The Barack Obama team is swiftly dismantling his presidential campaign network and getting the framework in place for the transfer of power, the Washington Post reports. Economic issues are taking priority and the president-elect may announce his Treasury secretary as soon as today. Sources say New York Fed Chief Timothy Geithner, former Treasury secretary Lawrence Summers and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker are likely picks.
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analysis
Slate Oct 10, 08 6:58 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Barack Obama is probably far from alone in wanting the heads of AIG execs who staged a $440,000 employee spa retreat just after the government's bailout of the company. The question is, does Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson have the authority to can the wayward execs? Nope, explains Juliet Lapidos in Slate. At least not technically.
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McCain looks to big names; Obama seeks to sooth markets
Bloomberg Oct 7, 08 5:34 AM CDT
(Newser)
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The post of Treasury secretary may be the most important appointment the next president has to make and John McCain and Barack Obama seem to be using different criteria, Bloomberg reports. McCain has mentioned big names like billionaire investor Warren Buffett and former eBay CEO Meg Whitman, while insiders say Obama's shortlist will be topped by market-reassuring names like New York Fed chief Tim Geithman.
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OPINION
Nation needs explanation of how it will help
Financial Times (UK) Oct 6, 08 2:42 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The economic bailout plan does nothing to address the "collapse in confidence" hammering the financial system, Christopher Carroll writes for the Financial Times. Using the example of the "Bank of Rome" in August, 79 AD, the Johns Hopkins economist argues that the plan makes as much sense as expecting that the "citizens of Pompeii will repay their mortgage loans" and calls on Ben Bernanke to step up.
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analysis
Some checks from Congress, but Treasury will hold the keys
Los Angeles Times Sep 29, 08 10:41 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Though its passage remains uncertain, the bailout bill would make Henry Paulson the most powerful mortgage financier in history, Peter Gosselin writes in the Los Angeles Times . Paulson got nearly everything he asked for; restrictions supposedly reining him in are little more than window dressing. Additions like the Democrats’ housing-relief provision and Republican mortgage insurance need to be heeded only at Paulson’s discretion.
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ANALYSIS
Successor for Treasury Secretary a major question in bailout debate
Washington Post Sep 25, 08 11:43 AM CDT
(Newser)
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With the Treasury Secretary looking to get $700 billion to spend on the bailout, Washington is starting to focus on who might replace Henry Paulson when a new administration takes over in January, the Post reports. Neither candidate has given in to requests for names, but speculation has centered on Timothy Geithner for Barack Obama and John Thain for John McCain.
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OPINION
Financial equivalent of the Patriot Act steams through Congress
New York Times Sep 23, 08 8:19 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Henry Paulson's Troubled Asset Relief Program is the “most amazing power grab in the history of the American economy,” writes Andrew Ross Sorkin in the New York Times , “the financial equivalent of the Patriot Act.” The initial draft of the bill circulating yesterday is not only stunningly devoid of oversight or transparency, it specifically excludes it.
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ANALYSIS
Obama could keep Treasury chief; weak-on-economy McCain seen to have few options
New York Times Sep 22, 08 9:53 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Henry Paulson’s handling of Wall Street’s financial crisis has consolidated so much power for the Treasury secretary that Barack Obama is considering keeping him on board if he wins the November election, the New York Times reports—and it’s heightened speculation about who might succeed him in a new administration. While Obama has several likely candidates, John McCain’s options look limited.
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