Recession: To be, or not to be

#56 - Most Viewed (Today) - Gurus#92 - Most Viewed (This Month) - GurusBernanke Paulson See Bleaker Outlook For US Economy Free Internet Press New York NY USA His sobering assessment was echoed by US Treasury Secretary Henry M Paulson Jr who appeared with him Both continued to avoid predicting a recession but US Chairman of capital markets subcommittee asks Henry Paulson for FXstreet com The Foreign Exchange Market Barcelona Spain Horace Walpole (1717 1797) US Chairman of capital markets subcommittee asks Henry Paulson for help with student loan market Bernanke Paulson set to discuss economy Charlotte Observer Charlotte NC USA By JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer AP Photo President Bush second from right greets from left Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson House Speaker Nancy Bernanke & Paulson Head To The Hill Nightly Business Report Miami FL USA At that same hearing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told lawmakers that the Bush administration is working to reduce the strains of the credit crunch on Bernanke Paulson Set to Discus s Economy Forbes NY USA By JEANNINE AVERSA 02 14 08 4:14 AM ET Fighting to keep the US economy afloat Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Paulson says US economy should dodge recession Boston Globe United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testifies before the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington February 13 2008 during a hearing on the Economy will continue to grow Paulson says Reuters USA WASHINGTON (Reuters) Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Thursday when asked if the economy would likely fall into recession told lawmakers that the US Bernanke Paulson on Hill on Wednesday Wyoming News WY USA By JEANNINE AVERSA WASHINGTON Fighting to keep the US economy afloat Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are Paulson says US Treasury monitoring wealth funds Reuters USA WASHINGTON Feb 14 (Reuters) US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Thursday that his agency was cl osely monitoring government owned wealth funds to Paulson says economy will weather through Market Day net Scottsdale AZ USA US Treasury Secretary Henry M Paulson said Thursday corrections in the housing market were due after years of unsustainable appreciation

#56 - Most Viewed (Today) - Gurus#92 - Most Viewed (This Month) - GurusBanks supervised by the Federal Reserve are in "strong capital positions" and don't appear to be at risk for failure, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday. "At this point we don't see any imminent risk of any insolvencies," Bernanke said, responding to a question from Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., during a Senate hearing. In testimony, Bernanke said the central bank was ready to cut interest rates further if fresh signs of a weaker-than-expected U.S. economy emerge.Bernanke Paulson See Bleaker Outlook For US Economy Free Internet Press New York NY USA His sobering assessment was echoed by US Treasury Secretary Henry M Paulson Jr who appeared with him Both continued to avoid predicting a recession but US Chairman of capital markets subcommittee asks Henry Paulson for FXstreet com The Foreign Exchange Market Barcelona Spain Horace Walpole (1717 1797) US Chairman of capital markets subcommittee asks Henry Paulson for help with student loan market Bernanke Paulson set to discuss economy Charlotte Observer Charlotte NC USA By JEANNINE AVERSA AP Economics Writer AP Photo President Bush second from right greets from left Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson House Speaker Nancy Bernanke & Paulson Head To The Hill Nightly Business Report Miami FL USA At that same hearing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told lawmakers that the Bush administration is working to reduce the strains of the credit crunch on Bernanke Paulson Set to Discus s Economy Forbes NY USA By JEANNINE AVERSA 02 14 08 4:14 AM ET Fighting to keep the US economy afloat Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Paulson says US economy should dodge recession Boston Globe United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson testifies before the House Budget Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington February 13 2008 during a hearing on the Economy will continue to grow Paulson says Reuters USA WASHINGTON (Reuters) Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Thursday when asked if the economy would likely fall into recession told lawmakers that the US Bernanke Paulson on Hill on Wednesday Wyoming News WY USA By JEANNINE AVERSA WASHINGTON Fighting to keep the US economy afloat Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are Paulson says US Treasury monitoring wealth funds Reuters USA WASHINGTON Feb 14 (Reuters) US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Thursday that his agency was cl osely monitoring government owned wealth funds to Paulson says economy will weather through Market Day net Scottsdale AZ USA US Treasury Secretary Henry M Paulson said Thursday corrections in the housing market were due after years of unsustainable appreciation

#55 - Most Viewed (Today) - Gurus#92 - Most Viewed (This Month) - GurusBen ernanke and Hank Paulson's economic testimony dominated day Brazil's Real Closes Weaker On New US Slowdown Concerns FXstreet com Foreign Exchange Market Spain minutes grim economic assessments issued by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Thursday in testimony before Congress Credit crisis moves beyond banks Inman com (subscription) CA minutes Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Henry Paulsen's Wild Ride on Economic Hindenberg CounterPunch CA "We should be thankful that we have Ben Bernanke who is an expert about Great Depression at helm I don't think he will make same mistakes that AM Newsletter MyForexBriefings com Forex Hound NY It is possible that market is still digesting remarks made by Bernake and Paulson yesterday for near term USD direction Aggressive traders can look for Stocks slide on economic worries CNNMoney com Stocks slumped Thursday as investors reacted to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's Congressional testimony that economic conditions are likely to get Stocks Decline After Bernanke Statement NewsLI NY Both Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson appeared before Senate Banking Committee on Thursday morning and expressed their observations and Head to Head: Media Turn to Greenspan When Bernanke Says No Recession Business Media Institute VA Andrews characterized Bernanke's testimony and testimony of Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson as "sobering " He accused men of "continu[ing] to Euro Hits Fresh One Week High Versus Dollar FXstreet com Foreign Exchange Market Spain grim economic assessments issued by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Thursday in testimony before Congress Treasurys Rise on Credit Jitters Manufacturing Confide nce Data Wall Street Journal Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told senators Thursday market is working its way through complexities of credit Dollar Weakens Against Yen Wall Street Journal grim economic assessments issued by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Thursday in testimony before Congress "Commulism Series" Part OpEdNews PA D) Counter Leveraging: "Counter Currency" Leverage Plan US (and WEAST) Treasury(s) create a "Paulson Plan et al" to aggressively purchase Yuan SmarTrend Morning Call Comtex Smartrend NY In comments to Senate Banking Committee Secretary Paulson and Fed Chair Bernanke neither enlightened nor surprised Paulson's comments focused on Credit meltdown turns toxic Melbourne Herald Sun Australia This followed a sobering assessment from Mr Bernanke and US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that things are worse than they had previously thought Ro mney Sends Endorsement Delegates McCain's Way U S News & World Report DC The Washington Post reports Bernanke "was trying to strike a tricky balance " He and Paulson "each aimed to show they were responding aggressively to risks Dollar Drops To Yen As Empire State Manufacturing Index Plunges RTT News NY The economist also remarked that both Bernanke and Paulson said they are scaling back their economic forecasts Fed has to be very close to on Money men all sound and fury Courier Mail Australia Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson says "the worst is just beginning" in subprime mortgage market "More Economists Signal Recession" headlines Wall SmarTrend® Opening Bell Comments February Comtex Smartrend NY All three indices closed lower yesterday following comments from Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to Senate Banking Committee indicating that risks to News roundup: stories leading other papers websites USA Today "His sobering assessment was echoe by Treasury Secretary Henry M Paulson Jr who appeared with him Both continued to avoid predicting a recession but Wall Street Breakfast: Must Know News Seeking Alpha NY Bernanke Paulson see sluggish growth not recession Fed chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson both acknowledged US economic

#56 - Most Viewed (Today) - Gurus#92 - Most Viewed (This Month) - Gurusthe country faces from a housing slump and credit crunch and what additional steps might be taken to bring about relief. Bernanke spoke of "sluggish growth," a jobs market that is not "rip roaring," and a "virtual shutdown" in the market for subprime mortgages — those made to people with tarnished credit or low incomes. For his part, Paulson spoke with emotion about the troubles of record numbers of people plunged into foreclosure and others struggling to stay in their homes. "I'll tell you, when you're there and you look at the abuses and you look at the predatory lending abuses and you look at some of the — it's heartrending," the secretary said. "But what we're doing is trying to deal with it." Lax credit standards during the housing boom was the spark that led to the current economic woes. "We had a dry forest out there," Paulson said. Paulson was equally vivid when talking about the Treasury Department's efforts to develop a regulatory blueprint for players in financial markets. "If someone came down — a man came down from Mars — and you were trying to explain the regulatory structure and how this works, the way the markets — you know, the regulatory structure has not evolved with the markets. And it's a patchwork quilt, in many ways," he said. The Fed chief didn't sugarcoat the economy's problems and used crystal-clear language, something his famously Delphic predecessor Alan Greenspan often was loathe to do publicly. "The outlook for the economy has worsened in recent months," Bernanke, a former economics professor, told lawmakers. People are tightening their belts and employers have slowed hiring. "We are going through a retrenchment, and that's a painful retrenchment," Bernanke said. The big worry is that people and businesses will cut back sharply, throwing the economy into a recession. The odds of a recession have grown significantly over the last year. Some economists believe the economy, which nearly stalled in the final three months of last year, is shrinking now. Many people — 61 percent — believe the U.S. is in a recession, according to a recent Associated Press-Ipsos poll. Bernanke and Paulson are hopeful the country can skirt a recession. They still believe the economy is growing — but at a slower pace. Even with the occasional unvarnished moments, both Bernanke and Paulson resisted one senator's efforts to pin them down on a description of the housing market. "There's been a lot of descriptions about where we are in the housing sector, whether it's a crisis or whether this is a correction," said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. "I'm wondering if each of you might choose a word to describe where we are today." Replied Paulson, "I don't use loaded words, and so I've been using correction because it is a correction." Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the committee's chairman, stepped in. "It would be inappropriate for the secretary and the chairman to start putting a label" on the housing situation, he said. "That could have its own self-fulfilling prophecy here," Dodd said. "So we've got to be careful about language. Language has significance and implications." with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Christopher Cox chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission Trio watches language Denver Post US Warnings economy could get worse Radio Australia Treasury secretary says Congress must pass new foreclosure laws Asbury Park Press StreetInsider com Associated Press Cox Sovereign Wealth Warrants Attention Houston Chronicle United States hours ago AP WASHINGTON — US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox told senators Thursday that recent growth of sovereign wealth funds SEC s Cox sovereign funds no cause for alarm in US Reuters SEC mulling new rules for credit raters Cox says MarketWatch What s Next for Credit Ratings? Wall Street Journal Reuters Guardian Unlimited Cox Questions Reliance on Credit Raters in Setting SEC Rules Bloomberg Feb regulator is ``re examining wisdom f that arrangement SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said today ``Recent market disruptions highlight ernanke Warns Economy Worsening Forbes NY hours ago Bernanke appeared with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Christopher Cox chairman of Security and Exchange Commission amid increasing concerns that Senate to hear top government officials about flagging economy WLOS NC Feb and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson appear before Senate banking committee joined

United States Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson meets Chinese President Hu Jintao and Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi in Beijing. U.S Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson met China's President Hu Jintao on Wednesday (April 2), after meeting with Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi earlier in the day. Paulson was expected to mix some politics with the usual economic issues when he meets with the Chinese officials over two days at a time when Beijing's sensitivity about its image is already high. Ahead of Paulson's visit U.S. officials said that an expression of U.S. concern over Chinese treatment of protesters in Tibet was on the agenda, just as it was for any high-level U.S. official in contact with China. While economic issues -- from investment to energy supplies and currency rates -- are the focus of Paulson's visit, it comes amid calls for actions up to and including a boycott of opening ceremonies for Beijing's summer Olympics. In Washington on Tuesday (April 1), the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, left open the possibility that heads of state, including President George W. Bush, should boycott the August ceremonies because of the way China has dealt with unrest in Tibet. China, the export powerhouse that supplies whole U.S. retail chains, has indicated its special worry about the potential for global fallout if America's free-spending consumers become so wary that they tip the U.S. economy into recession. Henry Paulson was a China veteran long befo...

#56 - Most Viewed (Today) - Gurus#92 - Most Viewed (This Month) - GurusBernanke Warns Economy Worsening Forbes NY hours ago Bernanke appeared with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Christopher Cox chairman of Security and Exchange Commission amid increasing concerns that Senate to hear top government officials about flagging economy WLOS NC Feb and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson appear before Senate banking committee joined by Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Christopher Cox BBC News Bernanke Warns of Worsening Economy Associated Press hours ago While saying that housing represented greatest threat to economy Paulson who testified along with Bernanke and Christopher Cox chairman of Bernanke Testimony Chairman says he gets it! BloggingStocks Bernanke s Optimistic Oppinion on Later US Economic Growth Enews Speech By SEC Chairman Christopher ox th Anniversary Of Exchange News Direct UK Feb Thank you Marty [Martha Cochran ASECA President] for that generous introduction I too wish to join Marty in recognizing outstanding leaders who SEC s Cox Outlines Agenda Predicts Member Commission CNNMoney com Feb WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox on Friday outlined his plans for agency in saying he expects Bernanke Paulson Cox to testify next week on state of economy Forbes NY Feb Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox will testify next week at a Senate Banking Committee UPDATE No money market funds below $ threshold SEC says Reuters Feb that is threatened with having to re price below $ " SEC Chairman Christopher Cox said in prepared testimony for a Senate Banking Committee hearing Earthtimes Paulson Foreshadows Proposals to Tighten Loan Rules Update ) Bloomberg Feb Paulson Bernanke and SEC Chairman Christopher Cox are scheduled to testify before Senate Banking Committee on economy and financial markets at Video Paulson Talks About Mortgage Rescue Plan kcratv Paulson says economy should dodge recession Reuters Speech By SEC Chairman Christopher Cox SEC Agenda For Exchange News Direct UK Feb Thank you John [White Director SEC Division of Corporation Finance] for that very kind introduction And thank you Linda [Thomsen Director Report leadership Efforts to simplify an exercise in obfuscation Financial Times UK Feb Christopher Cox chairman of Securities and Exchange Commission US regulatory body famously remarked that investors "should not need a machete and SEC May Propose New Rules for Credit Rating Companies (Update ) Bloomberg Feb determine whether rankings successfully predicted risk of default SEC Chairman Chr stopher Cox said at a securities conference in Washington today Iraq veteran gives life back to ailing teenager Houston Chronicle United States hours ago "Most children who have it don t live into adulthood " said Dr Jennifer Cox hematologist who oversaw Richard s treatment Physicians tried to defeat South Bend priest testifies before lawmakers that immigrants are WSBT TV IN hours ago Christopher Cox pastor of St Adalbert and St Casimir Roman Catholic churches in South Bend According to a soon to be published

George W. Bush planned the Iraq war from the first National Security Council meeting on, long before the 9/11 attacks took place. This was revealed by Paul O'Neill, former Treasury Secretary under George W. Bush in his book "The Price of Loyalty". Although this story was already published in 2004, it got only little attention, although it is clearly very important. This clip features excerpts of the interview that "60 minutes" conducted with Paul O'Neill. Take it from an insider: George W. Bush wanted to attack Iraq all along, and 9/11 just gave him the right excuse. It's that simple. The following generations will have to live with the terrible consequences of these reckless actions. From Wikipedia: The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill, a 2004 book, described the Bush administration during Paul O'Neill's tenure as Secretary of the Treasury. Written by former Wall Street Journal reporter Ron Suskind, the book says Bush's economic policies were irresponsible, Bush was unquestioning and uncurious, and the war in Iraq was planned from the first National Security Council meeting, soon after the administration took office. The book was based on extensive interviews with O'Neill and numerous documents O'Neill received during his job as Treasury Secretary. About Paul O'Neill: He began his public service as a computer systems analyst with the Veterans Administration, where he served from 1961 to 1966. He joined the United States Office of Management and Budget in 1967, and was deputy director of OMB from 1974 to 1977. After President Gerald Ford lost the 1976 election, O'Neill took an executive job at the International Paper Company in New York City. He was vice president of the company from 1977 to 1985 and president from 1985 to 1987. In 1988, he was approached by President George H. W. Bush to be Secretary of Defense. O'Neill declined, but recommended Dick Cheney for the position. Bush then pursued O'Neill to chair an advisory group on education that included Lamar Alexander, Bill Brock, and Richard Riley. Under O'Neill's leadership, the group recommended national standards and unified testing standards. O'Neill was chairman and CEO of the Pittsburgh industrial giant Alcoa from 1987 to 1999, and retired as chairman at the end of 2000. His reign was extremely successful, as the company's revenues increased from $1.5 billion in 1987 to $23 billion in 2000 and O'Neill's personal fortune grew to $60 million. In 1995, O'Neill was made chairman of the RAND Corporation. O'Neill was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by George W. Bush. O'Neill was a somewhat outspoken member of the administration, often saying things to the press that went against the administration's party line, and doing unusual things like taking a tour of Africa with singer Bono. His book claims that the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq was not a reaction to the attacks of September 11, but was instead a campaign in the planning stages ever since Bush took office, with potential oil spoils charted in early documents. Rather than denying his allegations, Bush officials attacked O'Neill's credibility, while answering that regime change in Iraq had been official U.S. policy since 1998, three years before Bush took office. However, O'Neill's claims called into question the relationship of the Iraq occupation to the post-9/11 War on Terrorism. After documents containing classified information were shown during a 60 Minutes interview in which O'Neill promoted the book, a Department of Treasury investigation concluded in 2004 that no laws were violated, but that inadequate document handling policies at Treasury had allowed 140 documents, which should have been marked classified, to be entered into a computer system for unclassified documents. The documents were amongst those subsequently released to O'Neill in response to a legal document request. Further links: http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/01/10/oneill.bush/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/3387941.stm http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB214/index.htm http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/01/11/bush_began_iraq_plan_pre_911_oneill_says/

The Group of Seven, known as G7 met this weekend in Tokyo to discuss world economy. The finance leaders said the global economy could get worse since the crumbling of U.S housing market. But also shared that fundamentals remain solid and the U.S. is likely to escape a recession.Finance ministers and central bankers from Japan, the United States, Canada, Britain, Germany, Italy and France say that growth in their countries is expected to slow down in the short term.It comes after the severe price fall in the U.S property market and the tightening of credit conditions, that is slowing down U.S. consumers' cash flow. Banks have restrained loans as their losses rise above $100 billion US Dollar.Businesses affected by the loss of cash flow are reducing costs and cutting jobs, slowing down consumption further.U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the G7 discussion was focused on how to minimise this period of turmoil.[Henry Paulson, U.S. Treasury Secretary]:"First focus, getting through this period of turmoil while minimizing the impact on the real economy."Japanese Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga says the fundamentals of the global economy remained firm.[Fukushiro Nukaga, Japanese Finance Minister]: (male, japanese)"The world economy faces an increasingly uncertain environment but its fundamentals as a whole remains solid."European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet also says the economic fundamentals in Europe were not affected.[Jean-Claude Trichet, European Central Bank President]:"We consider that the economic fundamentals are sound in Europe, we are not imbalanced either domestically or the external side."G7 leaders urged banks to fully disclose their losses and sustain their balance sheets so as to help restore the normal functioning of markets.

Bush DoubleSpeak: "Core" Inflation Low,U.S. Pays More for Gas,Food "...And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine..." Rev.6:6 KJV ___________________________ http://money.cnn.com/2008/01/04/news/economy/bush_economy.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes (CNN 1/04/2008) President Bush spoke to reporters Friday after getting an update from his top economic advisers, who are helping him decide whether to offer a package to stimulate the U.S. economy as it weathers the housing slump, rising oil prices and an uptick in unemployment. "This economy of ours is on a solid foundation, but we can't take economic growth for granted," Bush said. "And there are signs that will cause us to be ever more diligent and make sure that good policies come out of Washington." Vice President Dick Cheney and other White House officials joined Bush in his meeting with his working group on financial markets, an interagency panel led by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that meets regularly to discuss market conditions and regulatory policy. Others around the table included: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke; Chris Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission; Walt Lukken, acting director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Ed Lazear, chairman of the president's Council of Economic Advisers; and Treasury Undersecretary Robert Steel. ____________________________ ____________________________ Video: CNN FAIR USE NOTICE: We are making this material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

The central bank announces an emergency rate cut after markets around the world plunge on worries about a U.S. recession. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson comments on the economy, housing and credit markets.