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28 Nov 2011 11:28

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Biz: Bloomberg: Banks scored sneaky profits on emergency loans

  • $13 billion earned by banks via roundabout loans source
  • » How they worked: These banks took advantage of a set of emergency loans from the Federal Reserve distributed between August 2007 and April 2010. Bloomberg Markets magazine did the math on the numbers and figured out that, by looking at the companies’ net interest margin, you could see how the companies took advantage of the below-market rates they got on the loans to earn a profit. The companies that scored the biggest paydays? Citigroup, which earned $1.8 billion, and Bank of America, which earned $1.5 billion.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Jul 2011 10:41

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Politics: Fed Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke stays out of debt ceiling debate

  • If you’re the Fed chairman, you’ve got to be above politics.
  • Sen. Jon Kyl • Offering a bit of unsolicited advice to our boy Ben Bernanke in the whole debt ceiling mess: Stay out of it, be above it, let the children fight over it. Which, let’s face it, is pretty much his only good option at this point. For what it’s worth, he’s done a good job of this so far: While he’s warned that the debt ceiling needs to go up, he’s stopped short of favoring any one way to do it, a response Barney Frank calls “appropriate.” Not that he’s above actions that raise the ire of the GOP — the Fed’s recent spate of bond purchases, $600 billion in all, have ticked off Republicans. But he hasn’t pissed ’em off too much lately. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

20 Jul 2011 23:20

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U.S.: Federal Reserve slaps Wells Fargo with puny $85 million penalty

  • $85 millionpaid by Wells Fargo for its role in the subprime mortgage fiasco; the penalty was issued by the Federal Reserve
  • $25 billion received by Wells Fargo from the Troubled Assets Relief Program, colloquially known as the bailout source
  • » This is both the largest consumer protection fine ever levied by the Fed and the first time the institution has punished a bank for nudging customers into subprime loans. There’s more to come, too; in addition to the fine, the order also “requires that Wells Fargo compensate affected borrowers,” although it’s unclear how this will work. It’s better than nothing, but $85 million just seems a bit low; as a point of comparison, the bank made $2.5 billion in the first three months of 2010 alone.
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

28 Jun 2011 16:33

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U.S.: U.S. is wasting money on unsuccessful dollar coin program

  • 2005 Congress passed a bill to establish coin currency as a bigger force in America’s day-to-day transactions. Their plan was to produce $1 coins featuring, progressively over time, the full run of American Presidents. Republican Rep. Mike Castle sponsored the legislation.
  • 2011 The bill’s language has meant that the coins are still in production despite broad unpopularity — so much so that the Federal Reserve is sitting on an ever-expanding billion dollars worth of unwanted currency. Wanna talk wasteful spending? Here’s exhibit A. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

27 Apr 2011 16:29

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Politics: Fed. Chairman Bernanke holds unprecedented press conference

  • Working the crowd: Bernanke told reporters that his decision to hold this first-ever event was part of his effort to increase transparency at the Federal Reserve. On the issues, though, Bernanke was less a revelatory messenger than that of a lot of news we sort of already knew — unemployment is high, inflation is a risk as always (though one he sought to downplay), the deficit is unsustainable, and the Fed will be broadly staying the course with its monetary policies. That said, we want to give him some credit. First, the Federal Reserve has been a very secretive organization throughout its life, and Bernanke’s effort in making himself more available is admirable. Second, that might be the best damn beard in all of central banking. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

09 Feb 2011 11:05

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Biz: Federal Reserve’s Ben Bernanke not happy about slow hiring pace

  • The job market has improved only slowly. … This gain was barely sufficient to accommodate the inflow of recent graduates and other new entrants into the labor force and, therefore, not enough to significantly erode the wide margin of slack that remains in our labor market.
  • Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke • Explaining, in front of the House Budget Committee, the issues he and others are having with the slow pace of the economic recovery. While things are recovering, job growth is way too slow for his comfort. In other news, Bernanke says that inflation is likely to stay low for the foreseeable future, and that the government needs to get the budget situation dealt with. “Creditors would never be willing to lend to a government with debt, relative to national income, that is rising without limit,” he says, suggesting that we could face an actual fiscal crisis if we don’t take heed. Great. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

19 Nov 2010 21:45

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Biz: Federal Reserve taking it from all sides with stimulus plan

  • On its current economic trajectory, the United States runs the risk of seeing millions of workers unemployed or underemployed for many years. As a society, we should find that outcome unacceptable.
  • Federal Reserve Chief Ben Bernanke • Explaining why the much-maligned stimulus plan (which involves shoving $600 billion into the economy whether it likes it or not) is necessary to save the economy. Republicans and Tea Partiers claim that the plan could raise prices of essentials such as food. Internationally, there’s worries about the stimulus driving down the value of the dollar (thereby making exports to the U.S. more desirable). Republicans in Congress are talking about stripping the Fed of its mandate to promote full employment as a result of this action. We’d like to see Republicans, rather than reacting to things they don’t like, offering up ideas. Is it really that hard, guys? You’ve had two-plus years. Where are your economy-fixing ideas? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

08 Nov 2010 21:24

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Biz: Federal Reserve feeling international heat over risky U.S. economic plan

  • Call it cause and side effect. The Federal Reserve, concerned about the slow domestic economic recovery, recently announced that they were going to shove $600 billion into circulation, a risky move that could help the economy recover – or put us on the way to Zimbabwe’s hyperinflation. (OK, maybe not that bad.) Anyway, in the wake of all of this, the international market has been freaking out, afraid that the world’s standard-bearer currency will lose value over time. Obama had to defend the Federal Reserve’s announcement in India today, and gold – which is already on a solid upswing of late – topped $1,400 an ounce today. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Nov 2010 20:13

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Politics: NPR cuts the crap, translates what the Federal Reserve wrote

  • So to give the economy a kick in the ass—and to pump up inflation a little bit—we decided to go on a shopping spree.
  • A reworded translation of a Federal Reserve statement • Trying to explain what the Federal Reserve really meant when it wrote the phrase “To promote a stronger pace of economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at levels consistent with its mandate, the Committee decided today to expand its holdings of securities.” See? This is much easier to read. NPR’s Planet Money used a storytelling tool called “Plain English,” created by Slate, to explain what the Federal Reserve really meant when it announced it was shoving $600 billion into the economy. Ah, jargon. What would we do without you? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Nov 2010 21:32

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Biz: The Federal Reserve shoves money into the economy’s flagging corpse

  • $600
    billion     the amount of money headed from the Federal Reserve to the U.S. government
  • $75
    billion     the amount that breaks down to between now and June of next year; will it (finally) help? source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
 
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