Gingrich Bounce Shows Geek Love Can Still Blossom: Amity Shlaes
Whether his recent rise in the polls is lasting or not, Newt Gingrich has already shifted Campaign 2012 for the better. The feisty former speaker of the House has reminded us through his debate performances that knowledge is an important part of a president’s work.
That a president must know something seems obvious. But our nation’s opinion writers (myself included) have often ranked knowledge behind a candidate’s character, electability or even, simply, novelty. And in the past voters have often done the same.
That a president must know something seems obvious. But our nation’s opinion writers (myself included) have often ranked knowledge behind a candidate’s character, electability or even, simply, novelty. And in the past voters have often done the same.
Michael Lewis: Advice From the 1%: Lever Up, Drop Out
Illustration by Ted McGrath
To: The Upper Ones From: Strategy Committee Re: The Counterrevolution
As usual, we have much to celebrate.
The rabble has been driven from the public parks. Our adversaries, now defined by the freaks and criminals among them, have demonstrated only that they have no idea what they are doing. They have failed to identify a single achievable goal.
As usual, we have much to celebrate.
The rabble has been driven from the public parks. Our adversaries, now defined by the freaks and criminals among them, have demonstrated only that they have no idea what they are doing. They have failed to identify a single achievable goal.
My 5-Point Plan Makes 9-9-9 Look Complicated: Caroline Baum
President Barack Obama has a jobs plan, in case anyone has been off the planet for the past month. House Republicans now have a jobs plan. Each of the presidential candidates has some kind of employment blueprint.
Members of Congress have a bipartisan jobs plan: to keep their seats. Even Washington lobbyists have one, which is to ensure that the grotesque, 72,536-page tax code doesn’t sacrifice a single line of print. After all, without it they might have to return to the dreary practice of law.
Members of Congress have a bipartisan jobs plan: to keep their seats. Even Washington lobbyists have one, which is to ensure that the grotesque, 72,536-page tax code doesn’t sacrifice a single line of print. After all, without it they might have to return to the dreary practice of law.
Dudley Should Resign as New York Fed President: Simon Johnson. By Simon Johnson
A major financial crisis is brewing, brought on by a toxic combination of failing European sovereign governments and highly leveraged international banks, which could be affected by a breakup of the euro area.
In the weeks and months ahead, a major U.S. financial institution may face serious trouble, and government officials will have to decide whether that trouble is just a temporary lack of liquidity -- or a far more serious question of solvency.
In the weeks and months ahead, a major U.S. financial institution may face serious trouble, and government officials will have to decide whether that trouble is just a temporary lack of liquidity -- or a far more serious question of solvency.
Record of Brinksmanship Shows Merkel’s Mettle: Margaret Heckel
Illustration by Ryan Waller
By Margaret Heckel
During the financial crisis of 2008, German Chancellor Angela Merkel met Nicolas Sarkozy for a private lunch in the Paris house of Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni.
U.S. Stock Rise as Banks Rally on Italy Debt Move. By Rita Nazareth -
U.S. stocks rose, after the biggest weekly gain since 2009 in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, as Italy’s Mario Monti proposed budget cuts and Germany and France pushed for a new European Union treaty to fight the debt crisis.
All 10 groups in the S&P 500 gained, led by financial shares. Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) climbed at least 3.2 percent. MetLife Inc. (MET), the largest U.S. life insurer, rallied 3.8 percent after saying earnings will probably increase in 2012. Dollar General Corp. advanced 2.3 percent after the dollar store chain raised its annual earnings forecast and said it will buy back as much as $500 million in shares.
All 10 groups in the S&P 500 gained, led by financial shares. Bank of America Corp. (BAC) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) climbed at least 3.2 percent. MetLife Inc. (MET), the largest U.S. life insurer, rallied 3.8 percent after saying earnings will probably increase in 2012. Dollar General Corp. advanced 2.3 percent after the dollar store chain raised its annual earnings forecast and said it will buy back as much as $500 million in shares.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Central Banks Cut Cost of Borrowing Dollars to Ease Crisis. By Scott Lanman and Jeff Black -
Six central banks led by the Federal Reserve made it cheaper for banks to borrow dollars in emergencies in a global effort to ease Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis.
Stocks rallied, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average up the most since March 2009, commodities surged and yields on most European debt fell on the show of force from central banks aimed at easing strains in financial markets. The cost for European banks to borrow dollars dropped from the highest in three years, tempering concerns about the euro’s worsening crisis after leaders said they’d failed to boost the region’s bailout fund as much as planned.
Stocks rallied, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average up the most since March 2009, commodities surged and yields on most European debt fell on the show of force from central banks aimed at easing strains in financial markets. The cost for European banks to borrow dollars dropped from the highest in three years, tempering concerns about the euro’s worsening crisis after leaders said they’d failed to boost the region’s bailout fund as much as planned.
Central Banks Cut Cost of Borrowing Dollars to Ease Crisis. By Scott Lanman and Jeff Black
Six central banks led by the Federal Reserve made it cheaper for banks to borrow dollars in emergencies in a global effort to ease Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis.
Stocks rallied, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average up the most since March 2009, commodities surged and yields on most European debt fell on the show of force from central banks aimed at easing strains in financial markets. The cost for European banks to borrow dollars dropped from the highest in three years, tempering concerns about the euro’s worsening crisis after leaders said they’d failed to boost the region’s bailout fund as much as planned.
“It’s supportive but not necessarily a game changer,” said Michelle Girard, senior U.S. economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut. “The impact is more psychological than anything else” as investors take heart from policy makers’ coordination, Girard said.
Stocks rallied, driving the Dow Jones Industrial Average up the most since March 2009, commodities surged and yields on most European debt fell on the show of force from central banks aimed at easing strains in financial markets. The cost for European banks to borrow dollars dropped from the highest in three years, tempering concerns about the euro’s worsening crisis after leaders said they’d failed to boost the region’s bailout fund as much as planned.
“It’s supportive but not necessarily a game changer,” said Michelle Girard, senior U.S. economist at RBS Securities Inc. in Stamford, Connecticut. “The impact is more psychological than anything else” as investors take heart from policy makers’ coordination, Girard said.
Health case raises recusal questions for Kagan, Thomas
The Supreme Court’s announcement Monday that it will hear challenges to President Obama’s health care law put a spotlight on Justice Elena Kagan, who worked in the administration while the law was being written and, conservatives argue, helped craft its legal defense.
“Before the Supreme Court case is heard, we need to know if Justice Elena Kagan helped the Obama administration prepare its defense for Obamacare when she was solicitor general. The Justice Department must answer serious questions about whether Justice Kagan has an inherent conflict of interest, which would demand that she recuse herself from the Obamacare case,” said Rep. John Fleming, Louisiana Republican.
At the same time, liberal groups and Democrats in Congress have been pushing for months for Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself, citing his wife’s stated opposition to the law as an indication that he cannot rule impartially.
“Before the Supreme Court case is heard, we need to know if Justice Elena Kagan helped the Obama administration prepare its defense for Obamacare when she was solicitor general. The Justice Department must answer serious questions about whether Justice Kagan has an inherent conflict of interest, which would demand that she recuse herself from the Obamacare case,” said Rep. John Fleming, Louisiana Republican.
At the same time, liberal groups and Democrats in Congress have been pushing for months for Justice Clarence Thomas to recuse himself, citing his wife’s stated opposition to the law as an indication that he cannot rule impartially.
Fannie, Freddie cut lenders' risk in refinance program
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , the largest sources of U.S. housing finance, both said on Tuesday they would relieve lenders from certain risks associated with refinanced loans in an effort to help a government program reach more distressed homeowners.
In new guidelines for the Home Affordable Refinance Program, both companies said separately they are relieving lenders of certain representations and warranties that are related to the value and condition of mortgaged property.
Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks $13 Billion Undisclosed to Congress
Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks $13 Billion Undisclosed to Congress
By Bob Ivry, Bradley Keoun and Phil Kuntz
The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing.
James "Jamie" Dimon, chairman and chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., participates in a session on the second day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2011 in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Bloomberg Markets magazine's January issue examines how the Federal Reserve and big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. And how bankers failed to mention that they took tens of billions of dollars in emergency loans at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy. (Source: Bloomberg)
Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. No one calculated until now that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion of income by taking advantage of the Fed’s below-market rates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its January issue. Betty Liu reports on Bloomberg Television's "In the Loop." (Source: Bloomberg)
On Nov. 26, 2008, then-Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth D. Lewis wrote to shareholders that he headed “one of the strongest and most stable major banks in the world.” He didn’t say that his firm owed the central bank $86 billion that day. Photo: Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg
How Paulson Gave Hedge Funds Advance Word of Fannie Mae Rescue. By Richard Teitelbaum -
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson stepped off the elevator into the Third Avenue offices of hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management LP in Manhattan. It was July 21, 2008, and market fears were mounting. Four months earlier, Bear Stearns Cos. had sold itself for just $10 a share to JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM)
Now, amid tumbling home prices and near-record foreclosures, attention was focused on a new source of contagion: Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac, which together had more than $5 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and other debt outstanding, Bloomberg Markets reports in its January issue.
Paulson had been pushing a plan in Congress to open lines of credit to the two struggling firms and to grant authority for the Treasury Department to buy equity in them. Yet he had told reporters on July 13 that the firms must remain shareholder owned and had testified at a Senate hearing two days later that giving the government new power to intervene made actual intervention improbable.
Now, amid tumbling home prices and near-record foreclosures, attention was focused on a new source of contagion: Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac, which together had more than $5 trillion in mortgage-backed securities and other debt outstanding, Bloomberg Markets reports in its January issue.
Paulson had been pushing a plan in Congress to open lines of credit to the two struggling firms and to grant authority for the Treasury Department to buy equity in them. Yet he had told reporters on July 13 that the firms must remain shareholder owned and had testified at a Senate hearing two days later that giving the government new power to intervene made actual intervention improbable.
Have You Heard About The 16 Trillion Dollar Bailout The Federal Reserve Handed To The Too Big To Fail Banks?
What you are about to read should absolutely astound you. During the last financial crisis, the Federal Reserve secretly conducted the biggest bailout in the history of the world, and the Fed fought in court for several years to keep it a secret. Do you remember the TARP bailout? The American people were absolutely outraged that the federal government spent 700 billion dollars bailing out the "too big to fail" banks. Well, that bailout was pocket change compared to what the Federal Reserve did. As you will see documented below, the Federal Reserve actually handed more than 16 trillion dollars in nearly interest-free money to the "too big to fail" banks between 2007 and 2010. So have you heard about this on the nightly news? Probably not. Lately Bloomberg has been reporting on some of this, but even they are not giving people the whole picture. The American people need to be told about this 16 trillion dollar bailout, because it is a perfect example of why the Federal Reserve needs to be shut down. The Federal Reserve has been actively picking "winners" and "losers" in the financial system, and it turns out that the "friends" of the Fed always get bailed out and always end up among the "winners". This is not how a free market system is supposed to work.What Have The Central Banks Of The World Done Now?
The central banks of the world are acting as if it is 2008 all over again. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and right now the central bankers are pulling out all the stops. The Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank have announced a coordinated plan to provide liquidity support to the global financial system. According to the plan, the Federal Reserve is going to substantially reduce the interest rate that it charges the European Central Bank to borrow dollars. In turn, that will enable the ECB to lend dollars to European banks at a much cheaper rate. The hope is that this will alleviate the credit crunch which has gripped the European financial system by the throat. So where is the Federal Reserve going to get all of these dollars that it will be loaning out at very low interest rates? You guessed it - the Fed is just going to create them out of thin air. Our currency is being debased so that Europe can be helped out. Unfortunately, the impact of this move will be mostly "psychological" because it really does nothing to address the fundamental problems that Europe is facing. It is up to Europe to solve those problems, and so far Europe has shown no signs of being able to do that.Herman Cain's Marriage Shaken by Infidelity Charges
Herman Cain's Marriage Shaken by Infidelity Charges
As the one-time GOP frontrunner meets up with his wife to discuss his political future, friends say fresh charges of infidelity reopened old wounds in his marriage.
In October, Herman Cain was having the time of his life, according to those who know him well. At the front of the pack running for the 2012 Republican nomination for president, Cain had progressed much further and faster than he’d ever thought he could, given his weak political resume.
“Six weeks ago, Herman Cain was going home laughing his you know what off at how well he was doing,’’ says the Atlanta-based Rev. Joseph Lowery, friend of the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and former president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. “He was even surprised people were buying what he was selling. He has no business being in the race in the first place and he knows that better than anyone.’’
Then, in just a few days, things began to fall apart in a hurry as a string of women emerged accusing Cain of years of sexual advances and at least one long-term affair. So far Cain has done what he could to keep the charges from derailing his presidential bid, although in an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, the former pizza-company executive said once again that he was reassessing his campaign bid in light of recent allegations of a 13-year affair with an Atlanta businesswoman.
The Cain campaign denied any strife in the marriage, but one campaign worker speaking anonymously said that Cain doesn’t want to quit because he doesn’t want to be seen as a loser.
No matter what happens to Cain’s presidential aspirations, sources close to his family say the accusations of infidelity have already taken a significant toll on an already strained marriage.
A close friend of one Cain’s two children explained that Herman and Gloria Cain’s marriage has seen its share of trouble over the years and his attraction to other women always played a huge role in the friction.
GOP Would Have Had Better Shot in 2012 With Center-Right Pols Like Christie
GOP Would Have Had Better Shot in 2012 With Center-Right Pols Like Christie
Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels, Paul Ryan, and other center-right Republicans could have built bridges and given the party a better chance of defeating Obama, argues John Avlon.
Imagine them all clustered in a roadhouse, having a beer around sunset, shaking their heads over the lost opportunity.
There on the bench are Chris Christie, Mitch Daniels, Paul Ryan, Jeb Bush, and my former boss, Rudy Giuliani.
On TV they watch the political circus of Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Herman Cain, and Newt Gingrich—all rising and falling in succession as the GOP flavor of the month while the unloved, once-presumptive frontrunner, Mitt Romney, remains the only man in politics with a glass ceiling.
There are all sorts of reasons to decide now is not the right time to run for president. It tends to hold back the most responsible people because they ask themselves reality-based questions about policy preparation, personal vulnerabilities, the ability to raise money and the impact on their families.
But the most irresponsible just say what the hell and try to make the race for 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a will to power, often with alleged personal encouragement from God. So being a three-term congresswoman who couldn’t win statewide office in Minnesota or a pizza-chain CEO is no impediment to running for president of the United States.
They impose their own reality show on the presidential race, enabled by the increasing polarization of the primary electorate.
But imagine what a selection of strong center-right candidates could have offered the Republican Party and the country in 2012.
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