washingtonpost.com - Business Policy

While It's Big, Bad and Ugly, The Bailout Is the Only Answer

Jane Bryant Quinn — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

There's a lot of sloganeering around the Treasury's $700 billion financial rescue package, the Federal Reserve's $900 billion-plus lending authority, plus whatever else happens in the days ahead. Taxpayers need some clarification, so they don't hate the rescue anymore than is, well, reasonable.

World Leaders Offer Unity But No Steps To Ease Crisis

Anthony Faiola and Neil Irwin — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Officials from 20 major countries yesterday endorsed a coordinated approach to the financial crisis, but they failed to announce any concrete steps, underscoring the difficulty of crafting a global plan to halt the contagion as it spread to the broader economy.

Bush Seeks to Calm the Nation, Warns That 'Anxiety Can Feed Anxiety'

Dan Eggen — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

President Bush yesterday urged Americans to remain calm and allow time for a rescue plan to stabilize financial markets, reflecting a renewed attempt by the White House to stave off panic in the face of the global economic meltdown.

World Leaders Vow Concerted Action

Steven Mufson and Glenn Kessler — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

U.S. stock markets gyrated wildly yesterday as the world's top finance ministers met in Washington to hammer out a joint set of principles aimed at containing the financial crisis and restoring badly damaged confidence.

Studying Japan's Dark Decade to See How U.S. Might Fare

Anthony Faiola — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The sky over Tokyo seemed to fall in September of 1990, when the Nikkei stock index dove almost 20 percent in one month. Real estate prices would plummet and the financial sector would crack, trapping Japan in a "lost decade" of economic growth. Is the United States now set for its own?

Treasury Weighs Investing In Banks

David Cho, Binyamin Appelbaum and Lori Montgomery — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Bush administration is hammering out the final details of a plan that would allow the government to inject cash into banks in exchange for ownership stakes in an effort to shore up confidence in the faltering financial system, according to officials and sources who have been in contact with the...

The End Of American Capitalism?

Anthony Faiola — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The worst financial crisis since the Great Depression is claiming another casualty: American-style capitalism.

Tax Change for Banks Challenged

Binyamin Appelbaum — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Key lawmakers said yesterday they were pressing the Treasury Department to explain why it changed tax regulations last week to encourage bank mergers in a way that could cost the government billions in lost revenue.

Fears of Recession Deepen Rout

Renae Merle, Michael A. Fletcher and Neil Irwin — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Fear and foreboding took hold on Wall Street yesterday, as the stock market again plunged and investors became convinced that the nation is on the verge of a deep and prolonged recession. The rout continued in Japan, where stocks plummeted in early trading today.

Global Collateral Damage

Blaine Harden — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

SEOUL, Oct. 10 -- With its toxic securities and its insistence on open markets, the United States has a lot of nerve and a lot to answer for.

Mixed Signals for Mortgage Giants

Zachary A. Goldfarb — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Reading the latest report from the federal regulator running mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could give you whiplash.

In Re Our Work on the Bailout: Never Mind.

Al Kamen — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Lots of law firms, consultants and lobbyists have been working to advise their increasingly frantic clients as profits and balances quickly tumble.

Hoover vs. Roosevelt?

E. J. Dionne Jr. — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Echoes of 1932 can be heard in this year's presidential race.

No Plans to Coordinate Rescue Moves at G-7, U.S. Says

Binyamin Appelbaum and David Cho — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Treasury officials said yesterday that the government now has the necessary tools to address the financial crisis and that the Bush administration has no plans to announce coordinated initiatives with other nations at a meeting this weekend of finance ministers from the world's leading economies.

Getting a Grasp On the Crisis

Glenn Kessler — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

As the effects of the financial crisis ricochet around the globe, the number of taxpayer dollars involved in cleaning up the mess seems to grow by the minute. Stock markets go up and (mostly) down, and every day brings more news of trouble for financial institutions. All of which raises questions...

McCain Plan Draws Doubts From Experts On Mortgages

Dina ElBoghdady — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Sen. John McCain's proposal to have the federal government directly buy and refinance troubled home loans would cost about $300 billion, his campaign said yesterday.

The $700 Billion Man With an Engineer's Mind

Michael S. Rosenwald — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Many of the complicated securities at the center of the subprime mortgage crisis were designed by mathematicians and physicists, and now the U.S. government has tapped an aerospace engineer who used to design NASA satellites to start unraveling them.

Treasury Moves Quickly to Recruit Private Bailout Managers

Robert O'Harrow Jr. — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Treasury Department this week plans to start outsourcing the management of up to $700 billion in troubled securities, using special contracting authorities that enable it to retain private portfolio managers, custodians and other financial services consultants without following standard...

Globalizing The Crisis Response

C. Fred Bergsten and Arvind Subramanian — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

An internationally coordinated strategy, ranging far beyond the heroic efforts of the world's leading central banks, is essential.

Fed Moves to Thaw Credit Markets

Neil Irwin and Steven Mufson — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 12:31:00 EDT

The Federal Reserve, in a bold new attempt to jump-start the lending that is the lifeblood of American business, said it will buy up the short-term debt that funds the daily operations of banks and ordinary businesses.

Global Stocks Sink as Crisis Spirals; Fed Moves to Thaw Credit Markets

Steven Mufson and Neil Irwin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

With financial markets in near-meltdown, governments around the world scrambled to find new ways to infuse vast amounts of cash into banks and even directly to companies to help resuscitate the global financial system.

Germany Drafts Plan to Shield Banking Sector

Craig Whitlock — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

BERLIN, Oct. 6 -- German lawmakers said Monday that they were drawing up a massive intervention plan to protect the country's financial system as Europe's biggest economy braced for the possibility of more bank failures.

Assembling America's Mortgage Team

Zachary A. Goldfarb — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Retired and on his first family vacation in years, Herbert M. Allison Jr. sat with his wife and adult sons eating lunch on a veranda in the Virgin Islands when an urgent caller rang with a confidential inquiry.

Biotechs Race for New Vaccine

Kendra Marr — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Developing a next-generation anthrax vaccine is not for the weak of heart -- or wallet. Just two years ago, a revoked federal contract for a purportedly new and improved vaccine left a California biotech in ruins.

U.S. Fiscal Crisis Seems to Have Altered Political Map

Anne E. Kornblut and Dan Balz — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The faltering economy has left Sen. John McCain on the political defensive, altering the landscape in many of the most important battleground states and providing a series of avenues for Sen. Barack Obama to claim the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House in November, according to pol...

In Ordeal as Captive, Character Was Shaped

Michael Dobbs — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

HANOI The lake into which John McCain parachuted after his Navy plane was shot down is now surrounded by chic restaurants, cellphone stores and motorcycle dealerships. The prison camp where he confessed to being a "black criminal" has been turned into a multiplex cinema showing garish American...

With No Plan B, House Reluctantly Passes Politically Risky Measure

Jonathan Weisman, David Cho and Paul Kane — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Henry M. Paulson Jr. was in his corner office in the Treasury Department on Monday afternoon, too nervous to turn on his television, when his chief of staff poked his head into the Treasury secretary's office to tell him the stunning news playing out on Capitol Hill: The House had just defeated the...

Bush Enacts Historic Financial Rescue

Lori Montgomery and Paul Kane — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

With evidence mounting that the nation faces a sharp economic downturn, Congress yesterday gave final approval to what may be the biggest government bailout in American history, authorizing the Bush administration to spend $700 billion to try to thaw frozen credit markets and prevent a deep...

Paulson Moves On to Nuts and Bolts of Rescue

David Cho — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

With the political battle over the Bush administration's $700 billion financial rescue package at an end and the real work of rescuing the financial markets just beginning, all eyes are turning to Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr.

EPA Makes No Rule On Chemical in Water

Juliet Eilperin — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Environmental Protection Agency formally refused yesterday to set a drinking-water safety standard for perchlorate, a chemical in rocket fuel that has been linked to thyroid problems in pregnant women, newborns and young children.

After Change In Tax Law, Wells Fargo Swoops In

Binyamin Appelbaum — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Wells Fargo's deal for Wachovia could cost the federal government billions of dollars in lost revenue as the San Francisco company takes advantage of a new change in federal tax regulations designed to encourage bank mergers.

Making Money From a Meltdown

Thomas Heath — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The J.E. Robert Cos. began in 1981 as a sleepy private real estate investment firm in Alexandria with a seemingly boring business aimed at helping federal agencies like the Federal Home Loan Bank sell off troubled real estate assets.

Support Rallied as House Readies for Its Second Bailout Vote

Lori Montgomery and Dan Eggen — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A tide of lobbyists representing corporate executives, small-business owners, farmers and retirees swamped Capitol Hill yesterday in hopes of pushing an emergency economic rescue plan through Congress, but the fate of the measure remained uncertain as the House prepared for a climactic vote at mi...

U.S. to Fund Pro-American Publicity in Iraqi Media

Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Defense Department will pay private U.S. contractors in Iraq up to $300 million over the next three years to produce news stories, entertainment programs and public service advertisements for the Iraqi media in an effort to "engage and inspire" the local population to support U.S. objectives ...

Judge Refuses to Dismiss Charges Against Stevens

Carol D. Leonnig — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A federal judge refused yesterday to dismiss charges against Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens (R), ruling that Stevens's corruption trial can proceed despite the prosecution's belated disclosure of information that could aid his defense.

Senate Approves Bailout

Lori Montgomery and Shailagh Murray — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

The Senate last night easily approved a massive plan to shore up the U.S. financial system, but the measure faces a tougher test tomorrow in the House, where leaders will try to reverse the stunning defeat the legislation suffered earlier this week.

FDIC Conductor Wields a Steady Hand

Binyamin Appelbaum — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Hundreds of people desperate to withdraw money lined up outside the branches of IndyMac Bancorp after the California bank was seized in July by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

No Silver Bullets Here

Steven Pearlstein — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

To hear it from critics on the left and right, the Bush administration and legislative leaders were in such a rush to pass a "$700 billion bailout for Wall Street" that they failed to consider much simpler, cheaper, common sense approaches.

A Government Workforce in Need of Its Own Rescue

Joe Davidson — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

A throng of good-government types packed a National Press Club meeting room yesterday, determined to help smooth the transition from President Bush's administration to whatever comes next.

A Two-Pronged Push To Aid Ailing Banks

Binyamin Appelbaum and Carrie Johnson — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:56:58 EDT

Two federal agencies moved yesterday to ease the financial pressure on banks even as Congress continued to debate the wisdom of a broader intervention.

Castigating the Culprits

Howard Kurtz — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 07:33:00 EDT

Finally, something that Washington is good at--yelling about who's to blame.

Lawmakers Revise Rescue Plan

Shailagh Murray and Paul Kane — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Prodded by a wave of angry calls from constituents, congressional leaders dialed back partisan bickering over the $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan yesterday and advanced modest changes to the legislation in an effort to win over House Republican holdouts.

Fannie and Freddie Break Up Their Powerhouse Lobbying Operations

Zachary A. Goldfarb — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have dismantled their powerful lobbying corps, removing two dozen people who made up one of Washington's most formidable advocacy teams.

Bush's Warnings of Danger Are No Longer as Powerful

Dan Eggen — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

For the ninth day in a row, President Bush outlined a frightening scenario yesterday that could occur if Congress does not enact his financial rescue package: More banks will fail, home values will plummet further, and a stock market collapse will wipe out the retirement and savings accounts of...

AIG Founder Wielded Personal Influence in Washington

Carol D. Leonnig — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

In the four decades that Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg was at the helm of American International Group, he persuaded Washington to back him on many deals that helped his insurance company beat competitors and ultimately grow into the 18th-largest corporation in the world.

A Two-Pronged Push To Aid Ailing Banks

Binyamin Appelbaum and Carrie Johnson — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Two federal agencies moved yesterday to ease the financial pressure on banks even as Congress continued to debate the wisdom of a broader intervention.

GAO Challenges Plan to Auction Airline Takeoff, Landing Slots

Devlin Barrett — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

U.S. aviation officials have no legal authority to auction off takeoff and landing slots at airports, a scheme the government devised to try to curb crippling traffic jams at major airports, congressional investigators said yesterday.

Most Voters Worry About Economy

Dan Balz and Jon Cohen — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Voters are deeply divided over the terms of the government's $700 billion economic rescue package but overwhelmingly fear that the House's rejection of the measure on Monday could deepen the country's financial woes, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.