tagged w/ Henry Paulson
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Ron Paul on Larry King Live with Robert Reich who is an unapologetic Keynesian. Sorry for the video stuttering during the first segment. King gave Reich the last word who used it to continue to spread the fallacy that Hoover was the cause of the Great Depression and FDR and the War got us out. It’s really too bad Ron Paul had no time to counter that falsehood, but I suppose Reich played the media game perfectly by making these points when he knew Paul had no more time.Ron Paul on Larry King Live with Robert Reich who is an unapologetic Keynesian. Sorry... more
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A U.S. government investigator is opening a probe into disclosures made as part of the government's rescue of American International Group Inc. when the company's trading partners were paid billions in November 2008.
Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, plans to tell a U.S. House panel Wednesday that he is investigating whether there was any "misconduct relating to the disclosure or lack thereof" surrounding the deals, in which banks who had traded with the giant insurer got paid in full on $62 billion in bets on soured mortgage securities.A U.S. government investigator is opening a probe into disclosures made as part of the... more
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Goldman's reputation is suddenly as toxic as the credit default swaps and other inexplicably exotic financial instruments it used to buy with glee. That's bad for the one thing it values more than anything else: business. Being the prime target for popular and political outrage could put Goldman first in line for draconian new regulation. So it has, reluctantly, decided that the time has come to speak out, to fight its corner. That's how, on one of those bright autumnal New York mornings when anything seems possible -- even an invitation to break bread with the masters of the universe -- I find myself walking past the security guard who held up Michael Moore and into the building with no name.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/us_and_americas/article6907681.eceGoldman's reputation is suddenly as toxic as the credit default swaps and other... more
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Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program has criticised US Treasury officials for making optimistic statements last September, at the height of the financial crisis.
The US Treasury misled the public over the health of struggling Wall Street banks receiving emergency funds at the height of the financial crisis, creating unrealistic expectations and undermining popular trust in bailout efforts, according to an official audit.
An inspector general appointed to oversee the US government's banking bailout has singled out president Bush's treasury secretary, Henry Paulson, for painting an excessively rosy picture of the condition of institutions such as Bank of America, Citigroup and Merrill Lynch when the government pumped $125bn (£70bn) into America's ten top banks in September last year.
At the time, Paulson described the banks as "healthy institutions" and said that an injection of government cash would kick-start lending in the economy. But officials in both the Treasury and the Federal Reserve had private concerns that some of them were teetering close to a financial collapse.
"The Treasury may have created unrealistic expectations about the institutions' condition and their ability to increase lending," says a report today by the inspector general, Neil Barofsky, who adds that the Treasury and the bail-out program "lost credibility when lending at those institutions did not in fact increase".
He continues: "Accuracy and transparency will enhance the credibility of government programs like TARP [the troubled asset repurchase plan] and restore taxpayer confidence in the policy makers who manage them; inaccurate statements, on the other hand, could have unintended long-term consequences that could damage the trust that the American people have in their government."Neil Barofsky, the inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program has... more
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MATT TAIBBI, ROBERT JOHNSON, and MICHAEL LUX on Goldman Sachs's record profits, the company's big bonus plans, and how backroom deals and taxpayer dollars were used to resuscitate the banking industry. Are they simply bold risk takers or the most brilliant financial coup makers in the history of capitalism?MATT TAIBBI, ROBERT JOHNSON, and MICHAEL LUX on Goldman Sachs's record profits,... more
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GRITtv
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2 years ago
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Or a misrepresentation by the pundits and spin-doctors?
What really happened on wall street?
Do we really need these jerks who got us into this mess to get us out?Or a misrepresentation by the pundits and spin-doctors?
What really happened on... more
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asherp
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2 years ago
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Laura Flanders talks to Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone and Robert Johnson former chief economist for the Senate Banking Committee. Treasury Secretary Geithner represents absolute continuity with the previous administration and his announcement Monday recycles Henry Paulson's plan--what Paul Krugman has called "cash for trash." Johnson, who has known Geithner for 25 years says that he should go. You can see the full discussion with Taibbi, Johnson, and Jane Hamsher of firedoglake at www.grittv.org.Laura Flanders talks to Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone and Robert Johnson former chief... more
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GRITtv
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Rather than using federal bailout money to reinvigorate lending to consumers, some banks that received funds from TARP have spent it on questionable items that have done little to improve the health of the country’s financial sector but have certainly helped out foreign economies such as Dubai and China.
For instance, Citigroup Inc, which received $50 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, made an $8 billion December loan, not to an American entity, but to a Dubai public sector company, according to a newly released Monday memo by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH), chairman of the House Domestic Policy Subcommittee.
The Goldman Sachs Group, which received $10 billion in TARP funds at the end of October, saw fit to spend $2 billion earlier in the year on the repurchase of company stock, which resulted in an increase in company share price.
The memo notes of that stock repurchase, “That increase would have constituted a significant benefit to top executives at Goldman Sachs, who typically own large amounts of company stock.”Rather than using federal bailout money to reinvigorate lending to consumers, some... more
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So much for keeping the federal government from blowing millions in taxpayer money.
The Senate quietly stripped whistleblower protections from the final stimulus package Wednesday afternoon, as the bill's authors bragged of a bipartisan compromise. The removal is particularly significant because of the bill's $789 billion price tag.
Despite the ugly record of federal spending in Iraq -- where auditors found problems with $88 million in federal contracts, and couldn't account for 8.8 billion dollars -- senators quietly nixed the measure from the bill, without explanation.
Talking Points Memo, which cited a source close to the final bill, said the provision was removed by Republican Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), one of the senators brokering the compromise.
Some Republicans take umbrage with the idea of blanket whistleblower protections, saying they could damage the US's ability to collect intelligence.
Project for Government Oversight, a government watchdog group, blasted the removal.
"Accountability got mugged today when congressional leaders stripped federal whistleblower protections from their compromise stimulus bill," the group said in a release.
-This is a crock of shit. They are guilty of raping the US economy and robbing the taxpayer to cover it up. And now they are preventing the witnesses who would nobley sacrifice themselves for the greater good from doing so. I want t he TRUTH. And they expect us to believe removal of the whistleblower protection in an economic stimulis bill falls under the guise of "national security". Come on! The Bush Paulson TARP specificially proctects the Treasurer's (Paulson) actions with those funds from "prosecution in any US Court or review by any Federal Agency". They must really be scared about what they have done to us. Every American should be outraged. - Bansheewail, over and out.So much for keeping the federal government from blowing millions in taxpayer money.... more
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In efforts to stabilize troubled banks, the Treasury Department overpaid those institutions by nearly $80 billion, the head of a bailout oversight panel told lawmakers Thursday.
Elizabeth Warren, who chairs the congressional panel overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said Treasury officials chose not to risk-adjust the government’s investments in troubled banks, instead paying “a uniform price” regardless of each bank’s health. As a result, she estimates, taxpayers have spent $254 billion on capital investments worth just $176 billion — a difference of roughly $78 billion.
-File this one under: "Oh, my F*cking God", "Holy F*cking Sh*t" or "You have got to be kidding me."In efforts to stabilize troubled banks, the Treasury Department overpaid those... more
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ANP: A little-known story about the financial crisis.
During the frenzied events of the fall, Henry Paulson rewrote a piece of the tax code to expedite mergers. The quiet alteration amounts to an estimated $140 billion windfall for big banks. Some critics say Paulson's move was too autocratic, others argue that it was much more than that-that it was downright illegal. Will Tim Geithner and the Democrats attempt to correct the wrong?
.ANP: A little-known story about the financial crisis.
During the frenzied events of... more
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The American News Project Reports: On December 19th, Henry Paulson urged Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion of the bailout money. But no one seems know what banks have done with the first $350 billion. Despite the fact that Congress wrote more than one hundred pages about oversight in the bailout bill, they left a gaping hole.The American News Project Reports: On December 19th, Henry Paulson urged Congress to... more
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GRITtv
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3 years ago
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Time Magazine has named President-elect Barack Obama Person of the Year 2008
The weekly news magazine said "For having the confidence to sketch an ambitious future in a gloomy hour, and for showing the competence that makes Americans hopeful he might pull it off, the president-elect is TIME's Person of the Year"
US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the former Republican VP Candidate Sarah Palin and Chinese film director Zhang Yimou are this years runners-up.
There is more on the link below for further information:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2008/personoftheyearTime Magazine has named President-elect Barack Obama Person of the Year 2008
The... more
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The thinkable has happened: President-elect Obama is Time magazine’s Person of the Year. The decision was so obvious that Managing Editor Rick Stengel’s essay, “Why We Chose Obama,” does not, at least at first glance, explain why the magazine chose Obama. Runners-up included Hank Paulsen, Sarah Palin, and Zhang Yimou, who directed the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. There was one small surprise: The magazine used Shepard Fairey, who created the iconic poster of Obama during the primaries, to illustrate its cover.The thinkable has happened: President-elect Obama is Time magazine’s Person of... more
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This can't be good...
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Customers of New York City-based Citibank have lost access to much of their account information because of a computer outage.
Many of the troubled bank's clients haven't been able to retrieve account details online or by telephone since Tuesday afternoon. Others can access only parts of their account profiles.
Citibank telephone representatives say they don't know what caused the outage but technicians are working to fix it. They've been telling customers to call back after Wednesday morning.
A Citibank spokeswoman hasn't replied to a phone message or an e-mail sent after business hours.
Citibank is a division of Citigroup Inc., which is struggling to survive the global financial crisis with billions of dollars in aid from the government.This can't be good...
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Customers of New York City-based Citibank have... more
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Leading Spanish, British and Japanese banks say they could be facing losses of billions of dollars from the $50 billion fraud perpetrated by Madoff, but they aren’t too bothered as his proven ability to successfully work the markets for personal gain has restored their faith in the banking system.Leading Spanish, British and Japanese banks say they could be facing losses of... more
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Wall Street was last night reeling after the US Treasury announced they had found a bank that was not about to collapse. Speaking at a hastily convened press conference Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, a former bank CEO, said he was shocked to find a financial institution that did not require billions dollars of tax payer’s money to prevent it from going under and leaving tens of thousands of people unemployed. Paulson pledged to the American people that it would not be happening again......Wall Street was last night reeling after the US Treasury announced they had found a... more
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Everyone seems to want one, but apparently a lot of Americans aren't sure what exactly a ``bailout'' is.Everyone seems to want one, but apparently a lot of Americans aren't sure what... more
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he Federal Reserve is to inject another $800bn (£526.8bn) into the US economy in a further effort to stabilise the financial system.
US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the stimulus package aimed to make more lending available to consumers.
About $600bn will be used to buy up mortgage-backed securities while $200bn is being targeted at unfreezing the consumer credit market.
Financial institutions are reluctant to lend, deepening the economic slowdown.
The situation has been exacerbated as the credit crisis has worsened.
Under the latest rescue plan - which is in addition to the already-announced $700bn bank bail-out - the Fed is to buy up to $100bn in debt from the troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The central bank said it would also buy another $500bn in mortgage-backed securities - pools of mortgages that are bundled together and sold to investors.
The Fed said that the $600bn effort to support the mortgage market was being taken to reduce the cost of home mortgages and increase their availability.
It said the purchases of the mortgages and mortgage-backed securities would take place over a number of months.
In addition to the $600bn effort on mortgages, the Fed also unveiled a separate programme to help unfreeze the consumer debt market.
The central bank said it would lend up to $200bn to the holders of securities backed by various types of consumer loans, such as credit cards and student loans.he Federal Reserve is to inject another $800bn (£526.8bn) into the US economy in... more
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