Treasury Department

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Next Bubble May Be in Treasuries
Next Bubble May Be
in Treasuries
ANALYSIS
Jan 6, 2009 8:15 PM CST

Next Bubble May Be in Treasuries

But the rest of the bond market is attractively priced

(Newser) - As the credit and stock markets collapsed, investors rushed to Treasuries as the safest possible bet. But the rush to safety could be fueling a bubble, writes Andrew Bary for Barrons. Yields have been plummeting, with 10-year notes at 2.4% and three-month bills selling last week for 0.05%....

$173B Later, Taxpayers Still Can't Get a Loan
$173B Later, Taxpayers
Still Can't Get a Loan
ANALYSIS
Jan 6, 2009 10:09 AM CST

$173B Later, Taxpayers Still Can't Get a Loan

Consumer credit remains frozen, even at banks flush with bailout funds

(Newser) - Though US taxpayers own $172.5 billion of shares and warrants in 208 financial institutions, most of them still can’t get a loan. Interbank lending rates have fallen since TARP funds have been paid out, but consumer lending remains tight and average credit card rates are virtually unchanged from...

Feds' Cash in Hand, GMAC Kicks Credit Into High Gear

Automaker offering new, low financing options for consumers

(Newser) - Now that the Treasury Department has pumped $6 billion into GMAC, its lending arm, GM, along with its dealers, is rushing out new financing deals for credit-strapped consumers, the Wall Street Journal reports. “The minute the news hit, we began contacting customers,” said one Michigan dealer, whose employees...

GMAC Grabs $6B Federal Lifeline

Government uses bailout funds used to buy stake in auto finance giant

(Newser) - The federal government is dishing out a $6 billion bailout to keep auto financing giant GMAC afloat, the New York Times reports. The Treasury Department will spend $5 billion to buy a stake in the former General Motors subsidiary, and will loan GM a further billion so the company can...

Feds Overhaul Credit Card Rules
 Feds Overhaul
 Credit Card Rules 
Dec 18, 2008 11:53 AM CST

Feds Overhaul Credit Card Rules

New rules will tighten interest rates, could cost issuers $10B in revenue

(Newser) - Credit card companies will be forbidden from raising interest rates on existing debt after major changes to federal regulations OK'd today go into effect, USA Today reports. Starting in July 2010, the new rules will also restrict issuers' ability to cherry-pick higher-interest parts of balances to pay down first, and...

Fed Looks to Raise Cash With Its Own Debt Issue

Economy's dive prompts central bank to get more creative with financing programs

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has more than doubled to $2 trillion since August as it’s financed new programs and bailed out ailing businesses, prompting the central bank to weigh issuing its own debt for the first time, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Fed, looking for new...

Infrastructure Revitalization Is Right and Right

A conservative argues for investing in water, energy, transport

(Newser) - Conservatives who fear that investing in the nation’s infrastructure goes against core Reaganite values need to get over it. Our aging energy, water, and transportation systems are in dire need of corporate dollars and ingenuity, but “the private sector alone cannot handle the job—and the states are...

Obama, Paulson at Stalemate on Bailout Funds

(Newser) - The incoming administration and the outgoing Treasury Department are at a standoff over the second half of the $700 billion bailout, reports the Wall Street Journal. Whether Barack Obama is reluctant to overstep or wary of being associated with Bush administration policies isn't clear, but the Journal reports that unidentified...

Treasury May Lower Mortgage Rates to 4.5%

Rates could go as low as 4.5% to curb falling home prices

(Newser) - The Treasury may try to bring new mortgage rates down to 4.5%—a full percentage point lower than current rates—to revitalize the housing market, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the proposal, which is still in the early stages, the department would use Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac...

Low Staffing Strains Feds' Rescue Plan

May have been a big reason for Paulson's TARP flip-flop

(Newser) - The government’s economic rescue plan continues to be hampered by an understaffed Treasury Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. With 40 employees, the Office of Financial Stability—which manages TARP—says it has about half the staff it needs, and banking regulators say there’s a big backlog of...

House Panel To Investigate Spitzer Probe

Dems wonder if feds' prostitution sting was politically motivated

(Newser) - The House Financial Services Committee is poised to open an inquiry into the investigation that led to Eliot Spitzer’s resignation, the New York Times reports, with Democratic members wondering aloud if the federal probe could have been a politically motivated hit job. The former New York governor was not...

Stocks Keep Good Vibes Going
 Stocks Keep Good Vibes Going 
MARKET Open
Nov 25, 2008 9:13 AM CST

Stocks Keep Good Vibes Going

Stocks climb as investors are cheered by Fed plan to help consumer credit

(Newser) - Stocks continued to rise at the open this morning, with the Dow climbing more than 100 points and the S&P gaining 1.5%, as investors cheered the Treasury and Fed’s new program to boost consumer credit, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Nasdaq, however, was off slightly. The...

Wall Streeters Question Geithner's Role in Crisis
Wall Streeters Question Geithner's
Role in Crisis
ANALYSIS
Nov 25, 2008 8:51 AM CST

Wall Streeters Question Geithner's Role in Crisis

Treasury pick has been at the table all along

(Newser) - Markets surged yesterday when Barack Obama announced that Timothy Geithner would become treasury secretary as part of an all-star economic team. But Wall Street actually harbors some skepticism about Geithner, writes Andrew Sorkin in the New York Times. As chair of the New York Fed, Geithner was the point man...

Fed Launches $800B Programs to Unlock Lending
Fed Launches $800B Programs to Unlock Lending
UPDATED
Nov 25, 2008 7:35 AM CST

Fed Launches $800B Programs to Unlock Lending

Will lend to investors buying credit-backed securities

(Newser) - The Fed today unveiled a new $200 billion lending facility designed to thaw the freeze in consumer credit, the Wall Street Journal reports. The facility will lend to investors who want to buy securities backed by credit cards, auto loans, student loans, and loans to small businesses. The Fed also...

Obama Stimulus Plan Balloons to $500B
Obama Stimulus Plan Balloons
to $500B
Nov 24, 2008 10:50 AM CST

Obama Stimulus Plan Balloons to $500B

Paulson, too, mulls more aggressive action, tapping bailout funds

(Newser) - Barack Obama’s financial team is constructing a $500 billion stimulus plan that it hopes to rush through Congress early in 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. Obama would sign the bill, which is far more ambitious than anything discussed during the campaign, almost immediately after his inauguration. “This...

Paulson: We're Doing the Right Thing

Bush administration 'creatively working' on financial crisis

(Newser) - 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...

Bailout's Execution Draws Bipartisan Ire on Hill

Treasury's point man takes heat from lawmakers

(Newser) - The Treasury Department's radical shift in the execution of the government bailout drew fire from both sides of the aisle in a Capitol Hill hearing today, the Washington Times reports. Neel Kashkari, point man for the $700 billion plan, felt the wrath of the House Oversight subcommittee's ranking Republican, Darrell...

Bush Taps Asst. US Attorney to Oversee Bailout

If confirmed, Barofsky will take bailout responsibilities from Treasury's inspector general

(Newser) - The Bush White House today finally named a special inspector general to oversee the Treasury Department's $700 bailout, nominating a New York federal prosecutor named Neil Barofsky. The move comes a day after the Washington Post complained in a Page 1 story that 6 weeks into the bailout, no action...

FDIC Pushes Plan to Ease Mortgage Payments

Bush camp opposes using bailout funds

(Newser) - Officials at the FDIC are butting heads with the Bush administration over the bailout once again, yesterday outlining a plan to prevent 1.5 million foreclosures in the coming year by having banks sharply reduce monthly payments on mortgages, the Washington Post reports. The government would guarantee half the losses...

Bailout Flip-Flop Diminishes Paulson
 Bailout Flip-Flop 
 Diminishes Paulson 
ANALYSIS
Nov 13, 2008 7:54 PM CST

Bailout Flip-Flop Diminishes Paulson

(Newser) - Henry Paulson’s recent about-face on his plans for the $700 billion bailout do not bode well for his legacy, write Bloomberg's Rebecca Christie and Matthew Benjamin. Perhaps most damaging is not the change of mind, but what it says about his initial plans. “This is a flip-flop,”...

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