Embattled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner in an effort to restore his credibility outlined an unprecedented plan before a Congressional panel Tuesday that would give his department powers to seize non-banking financial companies. The new powers would regulate large insurers, investment firms and hedge funds. The government through the Federal Deposit Insurance … [Read more...] about Geithner Buckles Up As New Sheriff In Town
Bernie Madoff
Yaakov Kirschen, The Jerusalem Post, Dry Bones This cartoon is licensed and copyrighted to appear on TMV. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited. … [Read more...] about Bernie Madoff
Will Next Week’s G20 Meeting Create Major Plan For World Jobs And Growth?
Next week is the big G20 world summit where leaders will huddle to talk about the gobal economic crisis. And, in the end, will it prove to be merely perfunctory or will something of actually substantive come out of it? British Prime Minister Gordon Brown predicts there will be consensus and commitment: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Tuesday he was confident … [Read more...] about Will Next Week’s G20 Meeting Create Major Plan For World Jobs And Growth?
Tis the Season for Judicial Appointments
Last week President Obama made his first nomination to the appellate court. This came on the heels of news that Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had surgery for cancer and is now undergoing chemotherapy. Selections for the courts are definitely one area where presidents will never be able to please all the people all of the time, but are we even doing as well as we … [Read more...] about Tis the Season for Judicial Appointments
Geithner’s (Five-Year) Plan
I read the Washington Post's article regarding the plan to increase the power of the government, through the Department of the Treasury, to regulate or control larger segments of the financial market including hedge funds and similar instruments. Here is the quote from the article: "Besides seizing a company outright, the document states, the Treasury Secretary could use a … [Read more...] about Geithner’s (Five-Year) Plan
Zogby: New Poll Will Show Obama’s Approval Now Down To 50 Percent (UPDATED)
Pollster John Zogby is making it known that new poll will show that frustration over the economy will show that President Barack Obama's popularity has fallen to 50 percent. This pol was taken before the stock market went up yesterday after the announcement of the new Treasury Department plan to buy up "toxic" bank assets -- and in the wake of the bipartisan furor over the … [Read more...] about Zogby: New Poll Will Show Obama’s Approval Now Down To 50 Percent (UPDATED)
Democracy Corps Poll: GOP Becoming “Irrelevant” To Young People
A new Democracy Corps poll finds the Republican party becoming "irrelevant" to America's young people while President Barack Obama's popularity continues to grow: Democracy Corps and Greenberg Quinlan Rosner’s first post-election survey of youth shows the Republican Party growing more and more irrelevant to America’s young people. In marked contrast, young people’s support … [Read more...] about Democracy Corps Poll: GOP Becoming “Irrelevant” To Young People
Congressional Republicans To Dick Cheney: Please Go Away
What do these words have in common? Zmlknout (Czech)...Cállate (Spanish)...Cale a boca (Portuguese)...Se taire (French)...Inchide (Romanian)...Zašuti (Croatioin)...Stai zitto (Italian)...Hold kjeft (Norwegian)...and halt den Mund (German)? The answer: they all are ways of saying "Shut up" in different languages. And according to The Hill, that's the message Congressional … [Read more...] about Congressional Republicans To Dick Cheney: Please Go Away
Cartoonists Lampoon Obama And The Tonight Show
Comedian in Chief Nate Beeler, The Washington Examiner … [Read more...] about Cartoonists Lampoon Obama And The Tonight Show
LET’S GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON
People still approach Justice Scalia about the Supreme Court’s 2000 decision in Bush v. Gore. His prompt and discussion-ending reply has been “Get over it.” Perhaps that’s the attitude we need to take with respect to the banking/financial crisis and the bailout plans. We have to collectively “get over it” and move on as President Obama has been suggesting by limiting his … [Read more...] about LET’S GET OVER IT AND MOVE ON
‘Overloaded’ With U.S. English as the Language of Diplomacy: Izvestia, Russia
On March 6, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton handed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov a button labeled 'reset' in English, and 'peregruzka' in Russian. Unfortunately, peregruzka means 'overloaded' rather than 'reset', embarrassing the U.S. Secretary of State and the agency she leads on live TV. According to Maxim Sokolov of Russia's Izvestia newspaper, the error … [Read more...] about ‘Overloaded’ With U.S. English as the Language of Diplomacy: Izvestia, Russia
CBS Poll: Obama Takes Hit For His Handling Of AIG Bonuses
A new CBS News poll finds that when it comes to President Barack Obama's handling of the AIG bonuses controversy if the bloom is not off the rose then one of the blooms has started to seriously wilt: a large number of Americans give him poor marks on his handling of the issue: For the first time since he became president, a significant number of Americans are expressing … [Read more...] about CBS Poll: Obama Takes Hit For His Handling Of AIG Bonuses
Two Posts That Reveal The Long View
There are two very important posts that I just ran across that explain my long term concerns perfectly. The first comes from Brad Setser. Here are the relevant points: "Both private and official demand for US financial assets has collapsed. Gross inflows are close to zero." "The US government was — according to the latest US balance of payments data – a large net … [Read more...] about Two Posts That Reveal The Long View
U.S. Government To Switch To Chinese Made Condoms To Distribute Abroad
The U.S. government is switching to Chinese made condoms, doing to an Alabama company what condoms...(never mind). Here's a real stimulus story: Call it a condom conundrum. At a time when the federal government is spending billions of stimulus dollars to stem the tide of U.S. layoffs, should that same government put even more Americans out of work by buying cheaper … [Read more...] about U.S. Government To Switch To Chinese Made Condoms To Distribute Abroad
Probes Begin into Madoff’s Fleecing of the French: Le Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien, France
Believe it or not - French investigations into the crimes of Bernie Madoff are just getting under way. This account from France's Le Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien into what French prosecutors have uncovered so far contains some interesting details. For Le Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien, Laurent Valdiguie relates in part: "Between 3,000 and 5,000 French citizens were … [Read more...] about Probes Begin into Madoff’s Fleecing of the French: Le Journal du Dimanche au Quotidien, France
We Can’t Invite an Icon of Peace Because It Might Disrupt the Peace
You know, quoth Dr. E, this form of logic makes me think once again that if logic were all it's cracked up to be, men would ride sidesaddle. From AP, by Donna Bryson, with Associated Press writers Ashwini Bhatia in Dharmsala and Malin Rising in Stockholm contributing. JOHANNESBURG – South Africa barred the Dalai Lama from a peace conference in Johannesburg this … [Read more...] about We Can’t Invite an Icon of Peace Because It Might Disrupt the Peace
Rube Goldberg Economics
It's hard to evaluate Treasury Secretary Geithner's new bailout plan using traditional economic yardsticks. The government's economic behavior in recent months has entered realms better understood by studying the works of Franz Kafka and Lewis Carroll, or the illustrations of Rube Goldberg. Here, in less literary and pictorial terms, is what Secretary Geithner hath just … [Read more...] about Rube Goldberg Economics
Dow Soars Nearly 500 With Treasury Toxic Assets Plan News
Wall Street is giving a (for now at least) thumbs up to the Treasury Department's toxic assets bank plan in the form of the Dow making its fifth-biggest point gain in its history. That's the initial thumbs-up, which could hold. On the other hand, Wall Street could eventually hold up a much different finger. But the news today was heartening to all Americans who want to … [Read more...] about Dow Soars Nearly 500 With Treasury Toxic Assets Plan News
Big Publishers Lobby Bigger Google for Special Treatment
Say they, We don't like the algorithm... or the presentation! Many publishers resent the criteria Google uses to pick top results, starting with the original PageRank formula that depended on how many links a page got. But crumbling ad revenue is lending their push more urgency; this is no time to show up on the third page of Google search results. And as publishers renew … [Read more...] about Big Publishers Lobby Bigger Google for Special Treatment
The White House Explains The Toxic Assets Bank Plan
Here's how President Barack Obama explains it: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy And this explanation via Morning Joe: Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy Some more videos on the issue: … [Read more...] about The White House Explains The Toxic Assets Bank Plan