Fed offers $100 billion more to banks

[Ichingcarpenter]

Source: AP

WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve announced Friday it will auction another $100 billion in April to cash-strapped banks as it continues to combat the effects of a credit crisis.


The central bank said it would make $50 billion available at each of two auctions, on April 7 and April 21.

Through the end of March, the Fed has provided $260 billion in short-term loans to commercial banks through the innovative auction process. It also has employed Depression-era provisions to provide money to investment banks.

All the moves have been designed to cope with a serious financial crisis that has roiled U.S. and global markets and caused the near-collapse of Bear Stearns Cos., the nation's fifth largest investment bank.

The Fed has been holding auctions every two seeks since December to provide short-term loans to commercial banks. It started with auctions of $20 billion, then pushed the level to $30 billion, and in early March raised the auction amount to $50 billion as the credit shortage grew more severe.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080328/ap_on_bi_ge/fed_credit_crisis

---

Give Away to Banking Fat Cats........

[Joanne98]

1. OMG!

[WillyToad]

66. Just print more!

Worked for Idi Amin

[tbyg52]

80. Hi, Willy Toad!

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[superconnected]

2. *faint*

[formercia]

3. From BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7319413.stm

$100bn Fed move over credit fears

The US Federal Reserve will make a further $100bn (£50bn) available to major banks in April, trying to ease concerns about a global credit crunch.

The sum, offered across two auctions, is in addition to $260bn provided in short-term loans to the end of March.

Other unorthodox steps include the Fed allowing investment banks to borrow from it directly - previously only possible for commercial banks.


The dollar is depreciating so fast, they had to up the amount. In other news, Acme Wheelbarrow works reports a 50,000% increase in orders.

[Ichingcarpenter]

5. Acme Wheelbarrow Co.

Damn right..... I don't know if to laugh or cry on that point.

[Javaman]

10. My new wallet...

[Yavin4]

35. To Quote Chief Brody....

We're going to need a bigger boat.

[formercia]

11. VISA signs deal with Acme

Along with the VISA logo on the side of every wheelbarrow, there is an 800 number and the words:

Why carry your cash in a wheelbarrow, when a VISA card is so much simpler?

[jpak]

4. How much of that will be used by Big Finance to lobby *against* new banking regulation???

and Golden Parachutes???

I say lots and lots...

:puke:

[hatrack]

6. You might want to buy stock in companies that manufacture wheelbarrows . . .

Ah! But they're probably all in China or Malaysia - silly me!

[dysfunctional press]

7. don't look at it as a giveaway- they'll be putting up collateral...

:sarcasm:

WORTHLESS "collateral" is NOT collateral.

it must be utterly wonderful to have no morals and be in a position of absolute power over an uninformed and uncaring populace...:sigh:

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. The Stock Market is keeping a float on this shit

BTW can we get a nomination on this?

[Duppers]

22. done and it's moving up, thankgoodenss

I posted earlier in GD and got only one peep of attention:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

This is a major big-deal and folks should pay attention. Thanks for your post, Ichingcarpenter.

[Ichingcarpenter]

9. I think this is illegal also

"The auctions are just one of a series of unorthodox steps the Fed has taken to battle the current crisis. The biggest of those moves was an announcement that it was allowing investment banks to borrow directly from the Fed. Previously, only commercial banks, which face tighter regulations, had that privilege."

It turns out that under the charter of the Federal Reserve Bank that it is absolutely illegal for the Fed to loan money to an investment bank.

The U.S. Constitution set forth the powers of Congress. In Article 1, Section 8, Congress was given the sole power "To coin money, regulate the value thereof…” Likewise, the Coinage Act of 1792 was signed into law by President George Washington on April 2, 1792. It provided for the establishment of the first mint in Philadelphia.

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
- Thomas Jefferson (before the existence of the privately-owned Federal Reserve)

The banks are required to maintain a portion of their deposits as cash reserves in the form of U.S. note deposits in reserve banks. And the reason we see very few non-interest bearing U.S. notes in circulation is because they are "non-interest bearing" and kept in bank vaults out of circulation.

In December, 1913; with a barequorum present, Congress passed the 16th Amendment to the Constitution (Federal Income Tax) and also passed the unconstitutional "Federal" Reserve Act.

Read Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 and Article 1, Section 10, of the U.S. Constitution that Congress in Dec., 1913, abrogated their Constitutional oath by passing the "Federal" Reserve Act without a Constitutional amendment ratified by three-fourths of the states consenting.

The 16th Amendment was the vehicle to take money out of the working people's pockets to pay for the unearned interest that the Federal Reserve Act creates and this transfers wealth from the working taxpayer to the rich owners of the unconstitutional "Federal" Reserve who do nothing to earn the money because nothing is backing their privately owned Federal Reserve Notes.

This is how they have the unending supply of money to pay for the transfer of wealth, created by the middle income taxpayer, to the super rich.
It is the assertion that the Federal Reserve System is the main reason local governments are in a financial bind is true because the stock owners of the "Federal" Reserve System are raking in all the profits instead of the money going to the people.

If Congress were to repeal the Federal Reserve Act and eliminate this unconstitutional debt interest system, there would be no national debt and over 300 billion dollars that the taxpayers pay annually on just the interest on this debt, which is unearned interest, created by the liberal finance big spenders could be used to fund a public health program for all Americans, infrastructure for bridges and road repairs, school system, local government expenses and senior citizen needs.

Read Article I, Section 8, Clause 5 and Article 1, Section 10, of the U.S. Constitution that Congress in Dec., 1913, abrogated their Constitutional oath by passing the "Federal" Reserve Act without a Constitutional amendment ratified by three-fourths of the states consenting.

The Federal Reserve Board is staffed by appointments rather than by elections, but the U.S. Constitution empowers only Congress to control the value of the dollar.

[Tellurian]

30. The Fed Money is being siphoned off and off loaded somewhere else..

Looks like the beginning of the end.. If Sept is the end date, well. Have your food stocks and water supply current. Drain your savings and hunker down...the big one is coming!

[shanti]

40. like i've said before

there will be NOTHING left when the bastards leave the white house, they are making sure of this! :grr:

[Tellurian]

51. yep!

[Ichingcarpenter]

62. Yep, what?

Tell me, why, oh why, do you have that totalitarian shit on Hillary 44?

And then just look back and ignore history?

[Tellurian]

74. Yep...not talking to you..

FYI, I do not respond to potty mouth posters..

[Ichingcarpenter]

61. You realize that 'BILL IN THE BLUE DRESS' helped make this happen?

You do realize this? I find you comment condensing for who you support.
You are a neo-con and a bullshitter. You think this is good?
then GIVE THE PEOPLE FACTS VS OPINIONS WITH LINKS!!!

Glass-Steagall
http://www.progressivehistorians.com/2007/11/bill-clintons-role-in-mortgage-crisis.html




Bill Clinton and the Wall of Me

Billionaire Sanford I. Weill, who according to Louis Uchitelle made "Citigroup into the most powerful financial institution since the House of Morgan a century ago," has what I call the Wall of Me leading to his office, which he has decorated with tributes to him, including a dozen framed magazine covers. A major trophy is the pen Bill Clinton used to sign the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, a move which allowed Weill to create Citigroup. Fittingly, Citigroup is a major contributor to guess which current Democratic Presidential candidate?

A Frontline report on the repeal of Glass-Steagall shows how those with money end up with pens from the President of the United States on their walls.

Sandy Weill calls President Clinton in the evening to try to break the deadlock after Senator Phil Gramm, chairman of the Banking Committee, warned Citigroup lobbyist Roger Levy that Weill has to get White House moving on the bill or he would shut down the House-Senate conference. Serious negotiations resume, and a deal is announced at 2:45 a.m. on Oct. 22. Whether Weill made any difference in precipitating a deal is unclear.

Just days after the administration (including the Treasury Department) agrees to support the repeal, Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin, the former co-chairman of a major Wall Street investment bank, Goldman Sachs, raises eyebrows by accepting a top job at Citigroup as Weill's chief lieutenant. The previous year, Weill had called Secretary Rubin to give him advance notice of the upcoming merger announcement. When Weill told Rubin he had some important news, the secretary reportedly quipped, "You're buying the government?"
When Bill Clinton gave that pen to Sanford Weill, it symbolized the ending of the twentieth century Democratic Party that had created the New Deal. Although the 1999 law did not repeal all of the banking Act of 1933, retaining the FDIC, it did once again allow banks to enter the securities business, becoming what some term "whole banks."

The repeal of one of the most important pieces of legislation in this nation's history came about as a result of another Clinton "triangulation," the wobbling attempt to find the middle of the road that has somehow managed to pass for a philosophy with many Democrats for over two decades. As former Clinton former campaign Richard Morris once described it, you move a little to the left, a little to the right. I'd love to hear Clinton give that explanation to a foreclosed home owner today.

With the stroke of a pen, Bill Clinton ended an era that stretched back to William Jennings Bryan and Woodrow Wilson and reached fruition with FDR and Harry Truman. As he signed his name, in the whorls and dots of his pen strokes William Jefferson Clinton was also symbolically signing the death warrant of Liberal America and its core belief in the level playing field that had guided the Democratic Party. But it was the gift of the pen to Sanford Weill and its assuming an honored place on the Wall of Me that rubbed salt in the wound.

[wordpix]

90. BushCheney is there ready to offload at the end of their WH tenure.

[Ichingcarpenter]

63. Folks you need to read my thread on why it is illegal. n/t

[Time for change]

77. Wow, that's quite a synopsis of some of the main problems with the system!

Thank you. You must be an economist.

[Deny and Shred]

12. Planned through September - Where does it end?

The giveaway will be approaching a trillion by then. Think of all the other industries that could be created or upgraded with that money.
U.S. investments banks ought to have pitiful credibility by then, so what exactly are we getting for that $$$?

[Javaman]

13. when the dollar is worthless. nt

[chromotone]

14. Artist's rendition of one of the recipients: "Just one of the people"

Privatize the profits--Socialize the risks

[katty]

28. Perfect!

[shaniqua6392]

15. Bushco is killing America.

She will never be the same.

[cliss]

16. The system is broken.

The whole thing is toppling, as we speak. Here's the current word from one of the best sources of financial information:

www.marketoracle.co.uk/

"The G7 financial, central bank and banking regulators are in full battle mode trying to prevent the bankruptcy of the financial system. Since last Monday, almost 1 trillion Dollars of financial band aids have been applied. Investment banks have been included as participants at the discount window. And the investment banks, such as GOLDMAN "

[HCE SuiGeneris]

17. This, from Thomas Jefferson, says it all...

"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
- Thomas Jefferson (before the existence of the privately-owned Federal Reserve)

[Tellurian]

32. Precisely right. We will be shuttled off to the land of the Haves and Have Nots!

If things get crazy here, no worries. Bush and Cheney have built that big beautiful impenetrable state of the art compound in Baghdad called The Embassy. They will be fine and can weather the storms in the US from a safe distance while the Blackwell mercenaries cull the haves from the have nots warehousing the 'havenots' until further notice.

Bleak, bleak, bleak picture of the future facing us..

[Name removed]

70. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[1776Forever]

41. Right on - And the billionaires will all move to Dubai and China will move in.........

[MasonJar]

18. This is totally sickening. It has not been that many years since we bailed out

the crooks at the savings and loans (one of whom of course was a Bush); now with once again Pug deregulation and a Bush in the pack we have to bail the banks out again. But we, the American taxpayer beleaguered by Bushitis, cannot find a few million dollars to help fund health care for children. If the GOPers win again by stealth, then it is mandatory that we (en masse) refuse to pay our taxes. That is the only thing that will ever get the GOPer attention.

[Tellurian]

33. The Neocon's PNAC Plan is moving along as planned..

you can google it if you have the stomach to read it.

[CatholicEdHead]

19. Done on a Friday News Dump too

[FlyingSquirrel]

20. BANKS REFUSE!

"Thanks anyway, we're doing ok. No, really. We're fine. Keep it."

[GliderGuider]

21. On top of the situation with non-borrowed reserves, this move reeks of desperation

[Tellurian]

34. Not desperation...calculation..

[Canuckistanian]

23. $100 billion here, $100 billion there.. pretty soon it adds up to REAL MONEY

At what point, exactly, does the government say "whoa, you're asking for too much" when it concerns military contractors or financial institutions?

[wordpix]

83. BushCo tell its donors, whoa, you're asking for too much? I don't think so.

Let's remember these anti-regulation assholes are BushCo supporters.

[TroubleMan]

24. This is ridiculous.

At this point, I'd rather have Helicopter Ben actually follow through with his throwing money out of helicopters idea than this.

[Fiendish Thingy]

25. Seems like this is a way to bailout the banks and bypass congress...

Can't congress reign in the Fed before they put us on the hook for trillions more? I'm waiting for the US Govt. credit rating to drop...

[bluesbassman]

39. US credit rating is dropping.

This is part of the reason why oil is so high, foreign (and domestic) investors are looking for safer places to park their money. Observe the Treasury bonds. The past year has been the most turbulent in bond history.

[Zynx]

68. The Fed's actions mostly have nothing to do with taxpayer money.

They mostly act independently, the Bear Stearns deal not withstanding.

[RainDog]

26. can someone explain to me

why the govt doesn't refinance these loans to homeowners via Fannie Mae and apply that cash to mtg holders for their principle (and only one, and for x dollar amt) residence

wouldn't that be a direct stimulus to the economy?

the mtg holders would pay interest on the loans. the govt would temporarily employ a bunch of ppl to do this loan work (they could probably get some ppl from failed commercial banks for cheap) so that they, also, had money in pocket to counter the current financial shit hole called republican economic policy?

[Tellurian]

36. The Plan all along has been to break the Middle Class..

and they are succeeding. To put it simply, the Neocons want to go back to the way things were at the turn of the 20th century (making that 1900) There were only two classes of people. The RICH and the POOR!

The MiddleClass and Low Income/Poverty Level people are too much of a drain on government services. Our government, for the most part has been privatized to Big C's.. combine that thought with what is said in the wisdom of some of these posts and the OP and thee you have it in the nutshell. Think for a minute...Who owns all of the millions of houses being foreclosed on? (Banks and Investment Corps) Their inventories are bulging at the seams. Are they worried they are stuck with all tis real estate? Not a word, no outcry of failures.. So what will they do with all these properties?

The properties foreclosed on will go to the haves who qualify...I've seen this coming since 98' and the Primary reason for the Impeachment of WJC.. He interfered with their plans. This apocalyptic scenario would have been in motion long ago if BushI would have been elected a second term.. So, anyone wonder why they hate the Clintons so much. This is no joke it's for real. You can take it or leave it..Just don't say you weren't told, because you asked.

[RainDog]

44. the only problem with this scenario...

is that the neocons know all about "permanent revolution" as former Trotksyites and also know that if the huge disparity continues the govt will face a revolution.

same as it ever was.

but then again, these guys aren't really Trotskyites because they seem to be dumber than a box of rocks - sure, some wanted the disintegration and constant infighting in Iraq to get them off Israel's back (or fear of the same) but some of them believe at least part of the shit they sling.

Gertrube Himmelfarb, Kristol's mother, looked to the glorius revolution of 1600 as an example of how to move toward democracy w/o a revolution. The real back of the church had been broken and the church of england would never have the same level of control and power.

In fact, it became an obstacle to be a part of the establishment. All the interesting work was being done by the radicals and dissenters like Priestley and Erasmus Darwin in the 100 years between the murder of one monarch and the beginning downfall of the house of windsor.

So, if that's the plan, it's a piss poor one and it will not work because the republicans are headed out of office in big numbers. If they try to rig the votes again, I believe the "bourgeoisie riot" in dade county could be nothing compared to their attempt to usurp a historic election win for the democrats.

If they bankrupt ppl, those ppl have nothing to lose and everything to gain for their future generations by getting rid of the oligarchs. that's the way it is. That's the pattern of history. Change is inevitable. It comes in two ways: evolution or revolution.

As Kennedy noted, those who make evolution impossible make revolution inevitable.

Santanyana, all that. They ignore history at their peril. At this point I don't give a shit what they do because they are going out of power one way or another.

[Tellurian]

48. paragrah one conflicts with paragraph five..

It really is an art to think clearly. You obviously enjoy salad, "at your own peril"

[RainDog]

57. You wanna unpack that bitchiness a little bit?

in what way does the idea (contained in a three small paragraph opening... this is a rhetorical device b/c we are on an internet forum and breaking up space emphasizes this or that... like the turn that "they aren't Trotskyites."

So how does that contradict the idea that the religious dissenters in England were the ones who were outside of the power circle and were the ones who brought about the industrial revolution and the first labor laws? Erasmus Darwin, actually, was still Anglican.

Oh yes, I do just post off the top of my head on this forum. The level of discourse here is of the highest caliber across the board. Especially the parts about monkeys flying out of people's asses because the Bohemian Grove practices ritual human sacrifice.

But please enlighten me, oh you who think so clearly. Tell this poor ignorant Phi Beta Kappa, Rhodes Scholar nominee, masters degreed student how the first part of my post contradicts the other?

Or does it just contradict you and your apocalyptic scenario? Does it bother you because it provides room for hope? For the audacity of hope?

Or is that what really bothers you, that I have an Obama pic on my sig line?

I don't really care what your answer is, consider this post "rhetorical."

[Tellurian]

76. If Rachel Maddow needs a sub, I'll suggest you..

[jordi_fanclub]

45. So... I presume Alan Greenspan had nothing to do with this, right?

So...
I presume Hillary's last choice to "solve" the mess -Alan Greenspan- had nothing to do with this. :sarcasm:

Clinton proposes Greenspan lead foreclosure group
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3240340

Contrary to your opinion, last time I checked "the Primary reason for the Impeachment of WJC" was a cigar!

[Tellurian]

49. To put it bluntly..

She's sticking the foreclosure debacle up his kazoo! Did you think she was going to stand by and let Alan and Andrea head off into the sunset leaving a financial massacre in their wake? Hardly! She wanted to draw him back into the financial morass he created and publicly anoint him as the person responsible for acquiescing to the Neocon's "New World Order" Agenda.

"Contrary to your opinion, last time I checked "the Primary reason for the Impeachment of WJC" was a cigar!"

No, it wasn't. The cigar was incidental. Lying about the cigar was the reason for Impeachment!

[jordi_fanclub]

54. Ok, but then...

Quoting from your message #36:
"...and the Primary reason for the Impeachment of WJC.. He interfered with their plans."
AND
Quoting from your message #49:
"The cigar was incidental. Lying about the cigar was the reason for Impeachment!"

Incidentally seems you have 2-two different primary reasons: #36 isn't the same as #49.

[Tellurian]

75. Are you aware

of the goings on of the VRW during the Clinton Presidency?

[Ichingcarpenter]

65. I'm sure the cigar

Helped Al Gore to not get elected.
But that is the family that get elected.

[Ichingcarpenter]

64. Why did Bill Clinton help make this happen?

YOU are supporting a couple that made this happen.

[katty]

27. Corporate Welfare alive and well in america

U.S. taxpayers: You f****up, we'll pay for your mistakes!

[AlphaCentauri]

71. 100 billions for them 300 dollars for us n/t

[HuffleClaw]

29. madness

how long do they think they can maintain the illusion?

[NM Independent]

31. Yep - Privatize the profits and Socialize the risk

So, we're looking at around $200-300 bln in bailouts before the election. I'm assuming this is all just to hide the fact that the stock market would have already crashed had they not stepped in. In that respect I agree that something had to be done, but this just isn't right. The banks that caused this are getting off scott free, and the people whom they bent over are paying for it more than they were previously.

It's probably lazy of me to ask, but someone probably already has this at the top of their head. Just out of curiosity - How much is spent yearly on all social programs combined (food stamps, housing, medicaid, cash assistance, daycare subsidizing, etc.)?

[Tellurian]

37. see post # 36

and see why all the programs will come to a screeching halt..

[magellan]

42. $200-300 bln -- They've already thrown at least that much at the financial sector

By election-time it'll be approaching a trillion.

I expect the country will be kicking off Great Depression II by then.

[Purveyor]

38. Thank you for posting this. K&R EOM

[bronxiteforever]

43. Kick & R from the Wiemar republic

[texastoast]

46. No more money for Chinese debt!

When are the Town Hall meetings scheduled? Every one of us should show up for the meetings and hammer "no bail out for the corporate banking fuckers." Well, maybe not in those exact terms.

Attending town hall meetings was very effective in getting the Social Security privatization stopped. We MUST do it for this as well.

[Zynx]

69. The Fed is not borrowing from China. They are self-financing.

[Zorra]

47. Wealthy fascists are taking our tax money and giving it to themselves and other wealthy fascists.

I think the People should petition Congress to confiscate all of their assets and nationalize the finance industry in the name of national security.

[BadgerKid]

52. Cannot petition this Congress

The present Congress has enabled and continues to enable *co. I can only imagine they've been promised a big payout, acreage in Paraguay, or they've been blackmailed. I'm looking forward their joining us in the unemployment line.

[Jackpine Radical]

53. Qui Tam, anyone? (nt)

[truth2power]

58. So, help me with this...

Doesn't that have to do with whistleblowers suing ...what? on behalf of the government? And the plaintiff can get part of the damages?

I've run across this before, and I can't seem to wrap my mind around the concept. For Dummies version, please.. :dunce:


edit> typo

[Jackpine Radical]

78. That's essentially it.

It means bringing suit in behalf of the King as well as for oneself. You don't have to show that you sustained personal injury, only that the State did. Check it out in Wikipedia. They do a good job with it.

[truth2power]

89. Thanks. I'll check Wiki. n/t

[whistle]

50. Hey, why not! Neo-cons want to hyper inflate the U.S. dollar and destroy the economy

...to make way for a corporate fascist style government, this is clearly the best way to accomplish that mission :wtf:

[Zynx]

67. Inflation is not good for banks at all. They get paid back in cheaper dollars

for the loans they made.

[whistle]

81. I think the Big Banks have figured that one out

[Zynx]

82. There aren't inflation adjustment mechanisms in loan agreements for the most part.

They are just as screwed now as they ever have been when inflation gets out of control. Interest rates rise, but their profit margins actually narrow like crazy as the yield curve inverts. High interest rate environments are actually bad for banks, as counter-intuitive as that sounds.

[roamer65]

88. Government underreporting of the true inflation rate...

is what will REALLY screw the banks. They will have to tie any inflation adjustments to the "official" gov't CPI numbers which are 3-4x underreported.

[bluesmail]

55. ...while The Congress is on break

[dysfunctional press]

56. what will it take to break the back of the electorate's camel? that's A LOT of straw.

but then- we get the government we deserve. the PEOPLE have always had and still have the power to rise up and overthrow the corruption in washington d.c...we can make guillotines every bit as good as the french.

but we apparently choose not to do so.

as a society, we'd rather have innocent brown foreigners killed in our collective name, have our collective pocket picked, and have our un-lubricated collective ass fucked.

go figure.

[truth2power]

59. Could someone define "auction" in this context? Thanks. n/t

[droidamus2]

60. Credit crisis?

Hey I'm having a credit crisis and the government could help me out of it for a lot less than 100 billion. How about it?

[Ichingcarpenter]

72. News.......BUSH ANNOUNCES MAJOR CHANGE TO OUR BANKING SYSTEM

AP Top News at 1:17 a.m. EDT
1 hour ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration is proposing a sweeping overhaul of the way the nation's financial industry is regulated. In an effort to deal with the problems highlighted by the current severe credit crisis, the new plan would give major new powers to the Federal Reserve, according to a 22-page executive summary obtained Friday by The Associated Press.


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g8-DEMtAE9q4i4ySQ0eV_qZefmRQD8VMT37O0

[Hannah Bell]

73. Funny how they announce it on a Friday night...

What do you want to bet there's something sleazy here...

[wordpix]

84. The time on the AP report is 1:17 am!!!!!

[wordpix]

85. "new plan would give major new powers to the Federal Reserve" in 22-pg summary

I wonder if any of our Congresspeople will bother to read it?

[wordpix]

86. link here: "new rules must be approved by Congress"---this is all about regulations

http://voanews.com/english/2008-03-29-voa21.cfm

snip:

The plan gives the Federal Reserve the power to examine the books of financial institutions that are deemed a threat to the country's overall economic stability.

The proposal also gives the Federal Reserve the power to require financial institutions to take corrective action to decrease or avoid risk.

The proposal also consolidates some of the government's regulatory agencies, which experts say failed to prevent the current subprime mortgage meltdown and credit crisis.

The new rules must be approved by Congress.


snip

[olddad56]

79. When a dollar is worth a peso, the US citizens will accept the Amero..

google Amero.

[roamer65]

87. BRING IT ON, FED!

I have no problem with a 20 to 30% inflation rate. It will destroy what remaining fixed rate debt I have.

The dollar has already ceased to be a reserve currency and is now a only a medium of exchange, much like the old Brazilian cruzeiro or present-day Zimbabwe dollar.