Economy Watch: June 14, 2009 - June 20, 2009
House Panel Sends Second Subpoena To Fed On Bank of America-Merrill Deal
The House Oversight committee has issued a second subpoena to the Federal Reserve demanding additional internal information regarding the agency's role in the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch merger last year, according to a source familiar with the panel's ongoing investigation....
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Frank Ahrens
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June 19, 2009; 3:31 PM ET |
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The Ticker
| Tags: Bank of America, Ben Bernanke, Hank Paulson, Ken Lewis, Merrill Lynch
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A Graphic Representation of How Much Is Being Spent on Bailout
Once you start talking about $50 billion, $700 billion, $1 trillion, the numbers stop mattering to most minds. There's just no way to wrap your head around numbers that big. You can try the old reporter's trick, and write things...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 19, 2009; 3:25 PM ET |
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| Tags: AIG, Bear Stearns, bailout
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May Unemployment Keeps Rising In Most States, D.C.
Unemployment continued to rise from April to May in D.C. and every state but two, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said this morning. Eight states hit historic highs. Only two states -- Alaska and North Dakota -- added jobs from...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 19, 2009; 11:15 AM ET |
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| Tags: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment
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Markets Up at Opening
Improving sentiment lifted the markets this morning, as Wall Street opened up across the board. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the Dow was up about 46 points, or about half a percent. The broader S&P 500 was up...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 19, 2009; 9:50 AM ET |
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| Tags: Dow Jones, nasdaq, s&p 500
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June 19, 2009
The Washington Post staff share their picks for readings around the Web. The Lessons of 1937 The Economist | White House Economic Adviser Christina Romer takes to the pages of The Economist to explain why the government must not...
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Sara Goo
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June 19, 2009; 9:30 AM ET |
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GM Sheds Crippling Corporate Image -- Its Fleet Of Jets
A bankruptcy judge today approved allowing General Motors to sever its leasing agreements for its seven corporate jets and the hangar space it leases in Detroit's airport. You may recall how the automakers' jets became a symbol to some in...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 18, 2009; 5:30 PM ET |
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| Tags: GM, General Motors
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Reactions to Obama's Financial Overhaul Vary
The Ticker scanned the econosphere for reaction to President Obama's plan to overhaul the regulations governing the nation's financial system in the wake of last year's collapse. Here's a sampling: -- "The administration's proposal is so vast and controversial that...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 18, 2009; 5:03 PM ET |
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| Tags: Financial Services Roundtable, George Soros, Obama, Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, regulation
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Geithner Won't Say If Bailout Program Will Be Extended
Updated at 13:43 p.m. NOTE: Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's appearance before the House Financial Services committee scheduled to start at 1 p.m. today, has been postponed. The Senate Banking committee just let Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner go, and now he...
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Sara Goo
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June 18, 2009; 12:11 PM ET |
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| Tags: Federal Reserve, Jim Bunning, Tim Geithner
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Sens. Corker, Warner Sponsor Bill To Get Govt. Out of AIG, GM, Citigroup
Banking committee members Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) are sponsoring a bill that would get the government out of AIG, General Motors and Citigroup in a novel way: by transferring ownership control to a limited-liability corporation run...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 17, 2009; 4:17 PM ET |
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| Tags: AIG, Bob Corker, Citigroup, GM, Mark Warner
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Eddie Bauer Files For Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
Outdoors clothing retailer Eddie Bauer Holdings filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy/restructuring today, become the latest victim of depressed consumer spending in the ongoing recession, now in its 18th month. Eddie Bauer said its cash flow problems were causing its suppliers...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 17, 2009; 2:44 PM ET |
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| Tags: Circuit City, Eddie Bauer, bankruptcy
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Obama: Unemployment to Hit 10%
U.S. unemployment, now at a 25-year high of 9.4 percent, will hit 10 percent before it begins to decline, President Obama said during an interview with Bloomberg yesterday. Obama correctly called employment a "lagging indicator," meaning that unemployment can continue...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 17, 2009; 11:19 AM ET |
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| Tags: Bloomberg, Obama, unemployment
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Bernanke to Testify on Bank Of America-Merrill Lynch Deal
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify before the House Oversight Committee next Thursday, June 25, to answer questions on whether he twisted the arm of Bank of America chief executive Ken Lewis and forced him to go through with his...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 17, 2009; 10:30 AM ET |
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| Tags: Bank of America, Ben Bernanke, Federal Reserve, Hank Paulson, Ken Lewis
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Markets Open Flat
It seems safe to say that the Sideways Summer of '09 has begun: Wall Street opened flat this morning, as the March rally appears to be leveling off. In the first 20 minutes of trading, the Dow was down just...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 17, 2009; 9:53 AM ET |
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| Tags: Dow Jones, nasdaq, s&p 500
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May Housing Starts Surge -- What Gives?
This morning, we learned that housing starts in May surged 17.2 percent higher than they were in April, which means home builders are starting to build again. Yesterday, The Ticker reported here home builder sentiment -- what residential developers think...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 16, 2009; 2:17 PM ET |
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| Tags: Elizabth Razzi, Local Address, housing bubble, housing crisis
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June 16, 2009
The Washington Post staff share their picks for readings around the Web. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Baseline Scenario | How far below its potential is the U.S. economy functioning? The answer has huge implications for what government...
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Sara Goo
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June 16, 2009; 11:53 AM ET |
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Swedish Car Company With 45 Employees Buys Saab
General Motors has agreed to send its Saab unit back home, selling the quirky carmaker to a consortium led by Koenigsegg, a Swedish maker of super-fast custom sports cars, that has 45 employees, The Post's Kendra Marr reports. What the...?...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 16, 2009; 11:44 AM ET |
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| Tags: GM, Koenigsegg, Saab
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Markets Open Up Slightly
Wall Street tried to regain some of its big losses from yesterday and opened up slightly this morning. In the first 15 minutes of trading, the Dow was up about 13 points, or about one-tenth of 1 percent. The broader...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 16, 2009; 9:47 AM ET |
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| Tags: Dow Jones, housing crisis, inflation, nasdaq, s&p 500
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Stock Market 'Fear Index' Rises
Here at The Ticker, we like to take you behind the well-known numbers and show you some of the less sexy but very meaningful numbers that rule the markets. Last month, we brought you the Baltic Dry Index. Today, we...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 15, 2009; 3:44 PM ET |
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| Tags: volatility index
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Home Builder Sentiment Slips
Home builder sentiment has slipped backward in June following five straight months of gains from its record lows, the National Association of Home Builders said today. The trade group surveys 548 residential developers nationwide to gauge how they think their...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 15, 2009; 3:34 PM ET |
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| Tags: homebuilder sentiment
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Arthur Laffer: Hold On, Here Comes '70s-Style Inflation
Bell bottoms and disco may not be coming back, but 1970s-style inflation is poised for a return, noted supply-side economist Arthur Laffer wrote in the Wall Street Journal last week. You'll recall that The Ticker is an inflation hawk because...
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Frank Ahrens
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June 15, 2009; 12:08 PM ET |
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| Tags: Arthur Laffer, inflation
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June 15, 2009
The Washington Post staff share their picks for readings around the Web. Rising Government Bond Rates Prove Policy Works Financial Times | Martin Wolf makes the case for why rising long-term interest rates are a good thing. The President...
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Sara Goo
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June 15, 2009; 9:36 AM ET |
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