Federal Reserve

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Fed Moves Street; Dow Up 91
 Fed Moves Street; Dow Up 91 
MARKETS
Mar 18, 2009 3:23 PM CDT

Fed Moves Street; Dow Up 91

Plan to buy Treasuries, mortgage-backed securities stirs stocks

(Newser) - Stocks slumped today until the announcement of the Federal Reserve’s plans to buy billions in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities, which caused a minor rally in equities, the Wall Street Journal reports. Treasury prices surged and yields plummeted. The Dow gained 90.88 to close at 7,486.58. The...

Fed to Spend $1T on Mortgage, Treasury Securities

Latest intervention hopes to lower lending costs

(Newser) - The Fed plans buy up to $300 billion in long-term Treasury securities in an attempt to make lending more affordable, the Wall Street Journal reports. The massive buy is intended to push down interest rates on consumer loans and corporate bonds, which are linked to yields T-bills. The Fed will...

Fed Nearly Exhausts Options
 Fed Nearly 
 Exhausts Options  
Analysis
Mar 18, 2009 8:53 AM CDT

Fed Nearly Exhausts Options

With rates at 0%, politically unsavory buying program only tool left

(Newser) - The Fed is almost sure to leave the federal funds rate alone today, mostly because, at about 0%, it literally can’t go any lower. So with deflation still looming, what’s Ben Bernanke to do? One Goldman Sachs analyst says the Fed needs to shave the equivalent of 8...

Stock Rally Screeches to Halt
 Stock Rally Screeches to Halt 
MARKET Open
Mar 18, 2009 8:42 AM CDT

Stock Rally Screeches to Halt

(Newser) - Stocks took a turn for the worse at the open today, heading south after yesterday’s rally. The Dow fell 67 points, while the S&P declined 0.8%. The Nasdaq fell 0.5%, but component Sun Microsystems soared 65% on news IBM might acquire it. Investors are anxiously awaiting...

'Massive' Asset Purchases Likely Loom for Bernanke

Fed expected to step up purchase of mortgage securities

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve is expected to step up its buying of mortgage securities after policymakers meet today and tomorrow, Bloomberg reports. The outlook for the economy and job market has gotten bleaker since the Federal Open Market Committee last met 6 weeks ago and analysts believe Ben Bernanke is likely...

Bernanke Optimistic in Rare TV Interview

Fed chairman sits down for rare one-on-one amid crisis

(Newser) - The recession will likely end this year, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke declared yesterday on 60 Minutes in his first interview since taking office. Fed chairmen don't typically give TV interviews—the last one was Alan Greenspan in 1987—but Bernanke ventured out from behind the curtain to reassure the public....

18% of US Wealth Up in Smoke Last Year

Fed figures show $11 trillion was wiped out Americans' net worth last year

(Newser) - Last year's stock market and housing slumps wiped out nearly a fifth of the wealth of American families, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Federal Reserve announced yesterday that  $11 trillion—more than the output of Britain, Germany and combined—was erased from the net worth of households in 2008,...

Bernanke: Time to Prevent Next Crisis

(Newser) - Even as the financial crisis rages, Ben Bernanke says it’s time for broad regulatory reforms to stem future crises. Bernanke said today “too big to fail” institutions should be more tightly watched, perhaps by his Federal Reserve. He also admitted that the US hadn’t been prudent with...

Hedges, Private Equity Funds to Invest in Bailout

TALF program could see very rich outfits get even richer

(Newser) - With its highly touted TALF program to spur consumer lending, the government is undertaking a $1 trillion effort that hinges on the participation of some unpopular outfits: hedge funds and private equity firms. As the Washington Post reports, the Fed and Treasury's "public-private partnership" relies on investment from the...

Economy Worsens, No Relief 'til Late '09: Beige Book

Fed sees no turnaround until late '09, early '10

(Newser) - The Fed predicted more pain for the US economy in today's “Beige Book” report, with a turnaround not expected until late 2009 or early 2010, the Wall Street Journal reports. “National economic conditions deteriorated further,” across January and February, the Fed said. In a distressing turn, the...

Bernanke Backs Stimulus Bill
 Bernanke Backs Stimulus Bill 
Mar 3, 2009 12:00 PM CST

Bernanke Backs Stimulus Bill

Bigger deficits are worth the benefits, Fed chair tells Congress

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke supported the Obama administration’s economic policy before Congress today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The $787 billion stimulus bill should boost “demand and production” and soften job losses over the next 2 years, the Federal Reserve chief told the Senate Budget Committee. The expansion of government...

AIG Posts Record Loss, Gets 4th Lifeline of $30B

Insurer loses $62 billion in Q4 and may break up

(Newser) - AIG posted a quarterly loss of $62 billion today—the largest in American history—following news that Washington will provide an additional $30 billion in cash to the insurer and loosen the terms on previous loans. The Treasury and Fed have now intervened four times to prop up AIG, reports...

Ailing AIG Nears $30B Deal With Feds

(Newser) - Facing a roughly $60 billion fourth quarter loss—the biggest in corporate history—American International Group is cutting a deal with the feds to stay alive, Reuters reports. If AIG's board approves the agreement tomorrow, Washington will give the insurer another $30 billion in equity and a lower interest rate...

Fed Bailout Spawns More 'Zombie' Banks

Fed lifelines preserve banks that, frankly, are better off dead

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve’s aggressive lending to banks has helped avert financial collapse, but it may have created some monsters as well, the Wall Street Journal reports. A research paper from the University of Chicago suggests that while federal aid has succeeded some in thawing frozen credit markets, it has...

We Know What We're Doing, Bernanke Assures Congress

Fed chair defends response to financial crisis

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke defended the government’s response to the financial crisis today before Congress, saying regulators’ various approaches reflect different aspects of a unified strategy, MarketWatch reports. “We’re not making it up,” the Federal Reserve chief said. “We’re working along a program that has been...

Citi Struggles Under Fed Oversight, About to Get More

Tottering bank may give 40% of shares to Washington

(Newser) - Citigroup is in talks with Washington about a restructured deal that would see the US convert its 7.8% stake of preferred shares into up to 40% of common stock. The deal would provide Citi with desperately needed capital, but would place the bank under further control of the federal...

Bernanke: Recession Should End This Year

2010 will be 'year of recovery'

(Newser) - If the government’s plans work, the recession will be over by the end of this year, Ben Bernanke told senators today, making 2010 a “year of recovery.” But, the Wall Street Journal reports, the Federal Reserve chief pointed to continuing storm clouds, saying the US is undergoing...

Credit Crunch Pinches Entire Lending System
Credit Crunch Pinches Entire Lending System
Analysis
Feb 20, 2009 12:35 PM CST

Credit Crunch Pinches Entire Lending System

Undercapitalized banks stand to benefit from $1T infusion

(Newser) - Banks aren’t lending, and to change that the government is propping up not just the banks but also the vast, largely unseen financial system that fuels them, the New York Times reports. Banks rarely keep the loans they make anymore; instead, debt is packaged into securities and sold, generating...

How the Crisis Changed Bernanke
 How the
 Crisis Changed
 Bernanke 

ANALYSIS
Feb 19, 2009 12:33 PM CST

How the Crisis Changed Bernanke

Extraordinary times have changed the Fed chairman's language and policy

(Newser) - Crises change people, and the changes wrought by the financial meltdown on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke were well evident at a Press Club lunch yesterday, writes Dana Milibank for the Washington Post. Previously known for bland answers, this academic now tempers his economist-speak with straight talk and supplemented official data...

Fed Sees Little Relief for Jobless

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve warned today that the nation's economy is even worse than thought and predicted it would deteriorate throughout 2009. The Fed's bleak estimates indicated that unemployment could climb as high as 8.8 percent this year and that the economy would contract for a full calendar year for...

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