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To: Eddy Blinker who wrote (195)	12/6/2002 2:02:13 PM
From: maceng2	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1417

US Treasury secretary O'Neill resigns By Financial Times reporters Published: December 6 2002 14:31 \| Last Updated: December 6 2002 16:30 (see emboldened text, it seemed obvious to many for some time, I thought there was some masterful counter stroke in play though.... obviously not..pb) [also see my earlier comments. It stuck me something was wrong -g-] Message 18067130 President George W. Bush's economic team was in disarray on Friday after Paul O'Neill, US treasury secretary, and Lawrence Lindsey, White House economic adviser, announced their resignations. "I hereby resign my position as Secretary of Treasury," Mr O'Neill said in the letter to US president George Bush. "It has been a privilege to serve the nation during these challenging times. I thank you for that opportunity." The Bush administration was already scrambling to fill other top financial positions when Friday's resignations were announced. Last month Harvey Pitt, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the top US financial regulator, said he would step down after a rancorous fourteen months in office. There also remains a vacancy at the head of the newly formed accounting oversight board. Analysts speculated yesterday that Mr O'Neill, who took on the Treasury post in January last year, was forced to resign. The dollar was buffeted by the news but stock markets recovered from early data-related weakness. Special Report: O'Neill quits Read about the political and financial fall-out of the resignations Click here O'Neill, Lindsay resignations: not before time? Join our online discussion No reason was given for his resignation, which the Treasury said would take effect in the next few weeks. Mr O'Neill's departure is the first major resignation of the Bush cabinet. Shortly after announcement, it was announced that Mr Lindsey was also resigning. A former Federal Reserve governor who was President Bush's top economic adviser during his presidential campaign, Mr Lindsey crafted the tax-cut programme that the Bush administration enacted last year. Dollar falls but Wall St regains its poise The dollar weakened sharply on the announcement, and pushed the euro to a fresh two-week high at $1.0128 on the news, up more more than a cent on the day. The euro eased as the market digested the news, and stood at $1.0070 against the dollar by mid-morning in New York. While Mr O'Neill has frequently reiterated the strong dollar policy first adopted by the Clinton administration, markets widely believe the Bush administration would be happy to see the policy quietly dropped. Stock markets recovered from early data-related weakness as investors mulled the implications of the resignations. Analysts say O'Neill "ineffective" in post Observers in Washington and Wall Street said Mr O'Neill's tenure had been undermined by a series of controversial remarks. Several conservative Republicans in Congress had called for his resignation last year after Mr O'Neill branded a tax cut plan approved by a key committee "show business". His remarks about Brazil earlier this year upset the country's president, Henrique Cardoso, to the extent that the government called for the US ambassador to protest. Nick Parsons, global head of currency research at Commerzbank said markets should bear in mind that Mr O'Neill was "a very ineffective Treasury secretary": "He offered no sound analysis of America's economic problems, no understanding of the current situation and no ideas about how to fix them." Thomas McManus of Bank of America Securities said: "People have been talking about Mr O'Neill and the fact that he didn't fit in for quite some time. I think this is just the opportune time and I think the market is likely to see it as that." Charles Schwab, Phil Gramm suggested as possible replacements The Treasury said it was not yet decided who would act as secretary in an acting capacity when Mr O'Neill's resignation becomes effective. The list of possible replacements include Charles Schwab, head of the Schwab brokerage, and Phil Gramm, former Republican senator from Texas and former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Mr O'Neill, 67, had told colleagues he planned to retire from active work in December 2000 when he stepped down as chief executive officer of Alcoa. He served together with current Vice-President Dick Cheney in the Republican administration of Gerald Ford, in the 1970s. news.ft.com