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AIG's "Strength To Be There" Commercials Are Suddenly Hilarious

When Treasure Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and the Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, convened a meeting with House and Senate leaders on Capitol Hill last night to discuss giving AIG an unprecedented $85 billion loan, do you think they had a laugh about AIG's commercials? We picture Paulson saying something like, "Ha, ha, ha... 'strength to be there.' That's rich! Rich! Ha! I'm on a roll!" More »

10:42 AM on Wed Sep 17 2008
By Meg Marco
11,402 views, 55 comments

Most discussed LiuHaoZhong: I love this site and largely, enjoy the commenters' dialogue so I'll keep this civil. Everyone has their own (and more »

news from the swamp

New Treasury Department Plan: "Rehashed Industry Wish-List"

US PIRG's Ed Mierzwinski thinks the Treasury Department's recently announced plan for reforming financial regulation,

...may include some good ideas, but it is largely a re-hashed, unsubstantiated industry wish-list that seeks to eliminate state enforcement authority over insurance, securities and other financial products, without even guaranteeing strong consumer protection at the federal level.

I gotta say, when I first read about Henry Paulson's plan, it sounded like they said, hey, we've got this pile of proposals here, let's go down to Kinkos, use their binding machine, and call it a day.

Statement: Treasury regulatory proposal— a Wall Street home run and a Main Street strike out [U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog]
PREVIOUSLY: Treasury Secretary Calls For Supercharged Fed, Streamlined Regulatory System

10:34 AM on Wed Apr 2 2008
By Ben Popken
795 views, 9 comments

Latest by rellog: @Carencey: Did you think big business would shoot itself in the foot? more »

deckchairs on the titanic

Treasury Secretary Calls For Supercharged Fed, Streamlined Regulatory System

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson wants to consolidate the nation's financial regulators into a tripartite gang that can save the economy from distress and doom. The plan to give the Federal Reserve broad new regulatory powers and streamline the regulatory community has been in the works since last March, before the start of the subprime meltdown. Paulson is worried that the U.S. markets are no longer competitive with maturing world markets, some of which aren't hampered by nuisances like regulation. After the jump we'll explain the consumer impact of the plan and introduce you to your three new regulators. More »

4:38 PM on Sat Mar 29 2008
By Carey
3,862 views, 46 comments

Latest by Charles Duffy: @Mr. Gunn: That's not to say that all risks are the same, or that people don't have the ability (when more »

subprime meltdown

JP Morgan, Fed To Bail Out Bear Sterns

The New York Times says that JP Morgan and the Fed have reached an agreement to offer Bear Sterns a short-term "financial lifeline."

Bear Stearns, facing a grave liquidity crisis, reached out to JPMorgan on Friday for a short-term financial lifeline and now faces the prospect of the end of its 85-year run as an independent investment bank.

More »

7:59 PM on Fri Mar 14 2008
By Meg Marco
2,651 views, 46 comments

Latest by YouCanEatMe: Well, corporations might as well enjoy the bailouts for now because the Bush gravy train is coming into the final more »

credit crunch

Fed Chairman Asks Banks To Forgive Mortgage Debt

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is urging lenders to "forgive portions of mortgage debt held by homeowners at risk of defaulting," says Bloomberg. More »

12:20 PM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Meg Marco
7,059 views, 102 comments

recession watch

Fed Cuts Rate 1/2 Point To 3%

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee voted to cut interest rates by 1/2 point today, stating that the financial markets remain "in considerable stress."

Financial markets remain under considerable stress, and credit has tightened further for some businesses and households. Moreover, recent information indicates a deepening of the housing contraction as well as some softening in labor markets.

More »

2:30 PM on Wed Jan 30 2008
By Meg Marco
2,690 views, 40 comments

Latest by Mr. Gunn: forgottenpassword: Well, there's no point punishing the people that are already in debt, because that will just make things worse more »

economy

U.S. Markets Down Sharply Despite Emergency Rate Cut

Despite the fact that the Fed cut the federal funds rate on overnight loans between banks to 3.5 percent from 4.25 percent in an attempt to prevent a sell-off in U.S. markets, the Dow Jones Industrial average opened down by more than 460 points. More »

11:08 AM on Tue Jan 22 2008
By Meg Marco
1,685 views, 28 comments

Latest by WillScarlett: @canerican: You are correct that the Fed has terms of 7 and 14 years. However, you are incorrect that a new more »

lending

Fed Approves Plan To Curb Irresponsible Lending

The Fed has unanimously approved a new plan to tighten provisions designed to prevent predatory mortgage lending, as well as help to decrease the number of consumers who irresponsibly take on debt that they cannot afford to repay. More »

3:27 PM on Tue Dec 18 2007
By Meg Marco
1,071 views, 19 comments

subprime meltdown

Fed Cuts Interest Rates By Quarter Point

The Fed cut interest rates again today as they continue in their attempt to swoop in and save the economy from the credit crunch. Much like Superman, but boring and not as effective. More »

3:01 PM on Tue Dec 11 2007
By Meg Marco
1,647 views, 19 comments

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