The Biggest Risk In America Right Now
The biggest disasters always build up slowly. Here is what history indicates is looming around the corner for us.
The Fed just raised interest rates by a quarter-point, the first raise since the big recession. They have to raise them so they can lower them again next time the economy collapses. Get over it. Move on with your life. You have a beautiful family.
Fed Survey: We're Poor, Unless We're Rich
Who ruined our economy, Bush or Obama? Trick question! The economy’s never been better, for investors and rentiers. And it’s never getting better for everybody else, including the half of Americans who just told the U.S. government they’d be fucked if they needed to come up with $400, like, now.
A Few Very Wrong Things The Fed Said in 2008
Hindsight is 20/20. And that's what makes it so great. It allows us to chastise those who were wrong in the past.
Former Fed Official: 'Quantitative Easing' Is a Huge Mistake
In 2009, just after the Great Recession struck, Andrew Huszar got a job at the Fed managing its "Quantitative easing" program— a huge purchase of bonds designed to stabilize the economy and get credit flowing. Now, Huszar says the program is a failure.
Janet Yellen Is So Rich She Has More Than $100K in Her Checking Account
Janet Yellen, President Obama's nominee to lead the Federal Reserve, is a vastly wealthy multimillionaire—which is standard, because only those fully insulated from the effects of economic policies are allowed to make economic policies. Let's look at Janet Yellen's personal accounts, shall we?
President Obama Will Nominate Janet Yellen to Lead the Federal Reserve
President Obama will nominate Janet L. Yellen as chairwoman of the Federal Reserve today, according to White House officials. If her nomination is confirmed by the Senate, Yellen would be the first woman to lead the world's most powerful central bank.
NPR reports that Yellen is a very sensible choice to take over for Bernanke: "Yellen has served as vice chairwoman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System since 2010. She had previously served as the CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco from 2004 to 2010 and as governor of the Federal…
Larry Summers has withdrawn his name from consideration for Federal Reserve chairman citing a confirmation process that "would be acrimonious and would not serve the interest of the Federal Reserve, the Administration or, ultimately, the interests of the nation’s ongoing economic recovery."
Fed Nets $14 Billion on Bailout
Maybe Ben Bernanke really did know what he was doing, because the Federal Reserve has raked in an estimated $14 billion from fees and interests stemming from the bailout. But, never fear, there could still be bigger, uncounted losses. [FT]
Obama All About Fed Head Bernanke
President Obama will take some time off from golfing tomorrow to announce that he wants the Bush-appointed Ben Bernanke, who some say saved our country from absolute economic ruin, to lead the Fed for another term. [NY Times]
AIG Runs Low (Again), Some Hedgies Expand
♦ AIG is already running out of the $123 billion in cash it was provided by the Federal Reserve, which means the authorities are slowly waking up to idea that something else might be going on. [NYT]
♦ The U.S. economy shrank at a 0.3 percent annualized rate in the third quarter as consumer spending declined at the…
Rate Cut, Bad Loans On the Rise
♦ The Fed is expected to cut interest rates again today, possibly to as low as 1 percent. [WSJ]
♦ The White House is pushing banks to stop hoarding the bailout billions and start making more loans. [AP]
♦ George Soros says the number of hedge funds "will be reduced in size by anywhere between half and two thirds"…
Street Talk: More Money for AIG
♦ The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it would provide up to $37.8 billion to AIG. That's on top of the $85 billion lifetime the insurance giant got a few weeks ago. [NYT]
♦ Hank Paulson suggested yesterday the government may invest in banks as part of the next step in trying to resolve the credit crisis. […
Street Talk: Rate Cut
♦ The world's central banks are joining together to carry out a coordinated (and unprecedented) cut in interest rates, part of a plan to restore confidence in the global economy. [WSJ, NYT]
♦ Speculation that Morgan Stanley's deal with Mitsubishi UFJ had fallen through led to a huge drop in Morgan's stock price; the…
Street Talk: Fed Takes More Action
♦ Invoking emergency powers, the Fed will create a special fund to buy up commercial paper—short-term debt that companies typically use for such things as payroll—in an effort to ease up the credit markets. [Bloomberg]
♦ Wachovia and its sparring suitors, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, have agreed to a two-day truce as…
All My Banker Friends Are Really Concerned
Like you, I went to the New York Times homepage this morning hoping to read a charming story about Barack Obama's upbringing. Instead, I was bombarded with news that J.P. Morgan (along with the Fed) was bailing out Bear Stearns. Oh nos! And here I thought Bear Stearns and J.P. Morgan were the same company. (Not…
