Paulson: Govt Will Act to Aid Economy

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Source: The Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration will "do what its takes" to stabilize chaotic markets and minimize the economic damage, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Sunday after a tumultuous week capped by the government rescue of a teetering investment bank.

All eyes now are on Wall Street as leading financial advisers prepared for a Monday meeting with President Bush and the Federal Reserve weighs another deep interest rate cut Tuesday to stem even more deterioration.

Paulson, in a series of news show appearances, defended the Federal Reserve's extraordinary step Friday to provide emergency financing to one of Wall Street's most venerable firms, Bear Stearns Cos. The central bank's intervention was "the right decision," he said.

At the same time, however, Paulson sought to send a calming message that the administration is on top of the turbulent situation. "The government is prepared to do what it takes to maintain the stability of our financial system," he said. "That's our priority."

Read more: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hRok0gva27BnivD9uCZawlYf5hhQD8VEL2G00

[marmar]

1. And they're going to pull a rabbit out of a hat and saw a woman in half.....

Could it be that it's just an illusion putting me back in all this confusion?
Could it be that it's just an illusion now?
Could it be that it's just an illusion putting me back in all this confusion?
Could it be that it's just an illusion now?
Could it be a picture in my mind? Never sure exactly what I'll find.
Only in my dreams I turn you on. Here for just a moment then you're gone.
It's just an illusion - illusion - illusion.
Could it be that it's just an illusion putting me back in all this confusion?
Could it be that it's just an illusion now?
Could it be that it's just an illusion putting me back in all this confusion?
Could it be that it's just an illusion now? . . .

- From "Just an Illusion" by Imagination

[FreakinDJ]

2. How - By devaluating the Dollar even more ???

That is all they have done so far

[bicentennial_baby]

3. Thanks Hank, I feel sooo much better now...

:eyes:

[Amonester]

4. So R they going to lower the rate to what? 2%? 1%?

If these "lightbulb$" do that, say goodbye to the (already sinking) value of the dollah...
And say "hello" to $5/gallon gas? Hyper-inflation for groceries? Who's gonna drive to work?

[Democrats_win]

5. He really means that he'll help big business--like they've done since 2001.

[hatrack]

6. So, what does that mean, Hank? Bail out Goldman? Bail out Lehman? Bail out Carlyle?

After all, we (not YOU) just bailed out Bear Stearns, so I think as the people who'll be writing the checks, if you could let us know how big the check will be, we'd sure appreciate it!!

:puke:

[Nay]

7. So, these ppl who wanted to "drown the govt in the bathtub"

are going to save the economy? Pardon me if I :puke:


First, these morons couldn't save a drowning kitten from a mud puddle; they are that incompetent. Second, they don't care to save anyone/anything but themselves anyway, so the point is moot.

Poor Bernanke, it will be all HIS fault, when he was just the poor soul who stumbled upon the crime scene and got blood on his shoe -- he'll get hauled into the stocks for the crime, but he is basically an innocent bystander who has gotten caught in a general roundup.

[CatholicEdHead]

21. Might be part of the plan

With the dollar worth so little, long-held entitlements (aka Social Security) will have to be dropped for any recovery to happen.

/eek
//eek

[Nay]

23. It must certainly be the plan--but for them to come forward and act

like they're trying to help -- I want to scream and scream. Hypocrites and liars, and they are practically sneering in our faces.

[Lorien]

8. Hey, let 'em pull themselves up by their own bootstraps

It's the republican way! We don't want any corporate welfare kings, after all.

[roamer65]

9. Get them presses rollin', Ben.

[Faygo Kid]

10. Paulson Defends Bailout of Bear

Source: New York Times

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Bush administration will ''do what it takes'' to stabilize chaotic markets and minimize the economic damage, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Sunday after a tumultuous week capped by the government rescue of a teetering investment bank.

All eyes now are on Wall Street as leading financial advisers prepared for a Monday meeting with President Bush and the Federal Reserve weighs another deep interest rate cut Tuesday to stem even more deterioration.

Paulson, in a series of news show appearances, defended the Federal Reserve's extraordinary step Friday to provide emergency financing to one of Wall Street's most venerable firms, Bear Stearns Cos. The central bank's intervention was ''the right decision,'' he said.. . .

. . . At the same time, however, Paulson sought to send a calming message that the administration is on top of the turbulent situation. ''The government is prepared to do what it takes to maintain the stability of our financial system,'' he said. ''That's our priority.''



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-Paulson-Credit-Crisis.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

---

Anybody think the Bush administration would move so rapidly to financially "bail out" families lacking medical insurance?

Any bets here on how big the Bear Stearns "golden parachutes" are going to be for the top execs, backed by our tax dollars?

[UpInArms]

11. that the Fed bailed out an investment bank - not a commercial bank

was wrong.

It gave a wrong message for the troubles that Bear Stearns (the worst of the worst) in cooking up exotic vehicles for manufacturing losses in the system.



I hope they all rot in hell.

[Faygo Kid]

12. Great point. And frightening.

I remember the Chrysler bailout, but George W. Bush wasn't president then.

And it was expected that Chrysler would pay it back. I doubt they have any such expectations of Bear Stearns executives.

I too hope they all rot in hell, but we're the ones likely to rot as the drive to crush the poor and middle class accelerates over the next 10 months.

[UpInArms]

13. it appears that others believe what the Fed did was illegal - and I agree

Housing group challenges Fed's Bear Stearns deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A housing and fair lending activist group has challenged the legality of the Federal Reserve's quick approval of financing for Bear Stearns (BSC.N) via JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), questioning the Fed's authority to approve the deal because it involves a non-bank institution.

Inner City Press Community on the Move, in a complaint filed with the Fed late Saturday, called the central bank's brokering of the deal "entirely illegal" and anticompetitive, and questioned whether sufficient Fed members had voted for it.

In a first step toward challenging the bailout, Inner City Press questioned the legality of the Fed approving the deal without public notice, on the grounds Bear Stearns "is not a banking holding company and does not own a bank."

The Fed approved financing to Bear Stearns through JPMorgan in an emergency meeting Friday morning.

It was the Fed's first rescue of a broker since the Great Depression and its latest effort to soothe financial markets roiled by fallout from rising mortgage defaults.

But Matthew Lee, executive director of Inner City Press, vowed to take all needed legal actions against the deal.

"The Fed has hit a new low with this, they did nothing to protect consumers from predatory lending and now their response is to bail out one of the most notorious enablers of predatory lending with no benefit to struggling consumers," said Lee.

"This should be taken as far as it can go to finally bring the Federal Reserve to account that they work for the public interest and not only Wall Street, particularly in a time of crisis," he told Reuters on Sunday.

...more...

[Ichingcarpenter]

14. Reagan was president and his trinkle down theory ruled

and the bailout sold out the unions.

[ShockediSay]

15. BSC went from 61 to about 30 in a matter of days

surely any golden parachutes/handshakes are off the table
for those in 'responsible positions' who instead would be facing
lawsuits/ dismissals instead.

Otherwise, we need the rank and file/shell to survive,
AFTER the price of their corporate 'bettors' has been paid

[defendandprotect]

16. Let's not consider any of these "bail-outs" . . but BUY-OUTS . . . we own them now . . .

[Karenina]

17. Stalling the ineveitable

while buying time for the big players to dump their worthless keystrokes.

[kelligesq]

18. Fed bailing out BIG guys-absolutely no reason they should not bail out home-owners!Big guys suckered

happlicants for mortgages into sub-primes. Why should they be bailed out
and their victims not?

[kelligesq]

20. reccomended

[natrat]

19. ours is truely the generation of crooks

[sarcasmo]

It should read, do what it takes to destroy this Country, then a pinkie finger to the mouth like

DR. Evil

[sarcasmo]

22. It should read, do what it takes to destroy this Country, then a pinkie finger to the mouth like

DR. Evil