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Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (2081)	11/24/2008 11:55:51 AM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 103300

Re: "It could have been mere coincidence." Sure. But highly UNLIKELY. As the word of Obama's appointment to the Treasury came across the tickers in the New York Stock Exchange you could instantly (that very second) see the huge inflow of buy orders. Markets hate uncertainty, and this new Treasury Secretary represents not only ability and brains (head of the most financially-oriented Federal Reserve Bank, the New York Fed), but he has ALSO been working day-to-day with Paulson... so he represents continuity and certainty (and also financial 'conservatism') to the financial community. A very PRAGMATIC and appropriate (considering the circumstances we find ourselves in) selection.

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (2081)	11/24/2008 1:07:00 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 103300

Bush: Safeguarding Financial Systems 1st Step To Recovery Dow Jones November 24, 2008: 12:11 PM EST (Updates with additional background and White House spokesman comment) By Henry J. Pulizzi money.cnn.com Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Hours after the federal government came to the aid of Citigroup Inc. (C), U.S. President George W. Bush said he is prepared to make more dramatic moves to protect the battered financial system. "We have made these kinds of decisions in the past, made one last night, and if need be we're going to make these kind of decisions to safeguard our financial system in the future," Bush said Monday. Addressing reporters on the steps of the Treasury building after meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Bush said he spoke with President-elect Barack Obama about the decision to rescue Citigroup and will continue to keep Obama up to date on the administration's actions to ease the economic crisis. "I told the president-elect when I first met him that anytime we were to make a big decision during this transition, he will be informed as will his team," Bush said. Under a plan unveiled late Sunday, the government will insure part of Citigroup's balance sheet, putting taxpayers at risk if the bank's portfolio of mortgages and other assets continues to suffer. The plan reflects the government's concern over the state of Citigroup, whose stock plunged sharply last week, threatening confidence in the broader financial system. Bush said he discussed the Citigroup rescue with Paulson "at length" Sunday during his flight back from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. "The secretary and I share the concerns of our citizens, concerns about jobs, concerns about savings accounts," Bush said. "This is a tough situation for America, but we'll recover from it. The first step for recovery is to safeguard our financial system." A White House spokesman declined to comment on other actions the administration may be considering. "We would never foreshadow any specific actions involving private firms," Tony Fratto told reporters. Under the new rescue plan, Citigroup will absorb the first $29 billion in losses on a $306 billion portfolio of troubled assets. After that, three government agencies - the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. - will take on any additional losses, though Citigroup could have to share a small portion of additional losses. The Treasury Department also will inject $20 billion of fresh capital into Citigroup, a sum that is in addition to the $25 billion infusion the bank has already received from the government. Citigroup will give the government warrants to buy shares in the company. Bush, in recent remarks on the financial crisis, has repeatedly pushed for free-market solutions, despite the government's widening role in the banking sector. The White House on Monday said the Citigroup matter doesn't conflict with the president's push for open markets. "When you have systemically large companies that can bring down not just the entire U.S. financial system but the global financial system and have a devastating effect on our broader economy, the government has to step in," Fratto said. "So we have an obligation to preserve that very important part of our economy, and that supports the free market system." Bush's comments Monday and his administration's increased activism come as Obama prepares to unveil his economic team later in the day and discuss his approach to the economic crisis. Over the weekend, Obama announced plans to create 2.5 million jobs by 2011, though the specifics of that goal haven't been enunciated. Key Democrats reportedly are considering an economic stimulus package that could cost as much as $700 billion over two years. The White House has resisted Democrats' stimulus proposals, dimming the prospects for legislation before Obama takes office in January. Fratto said the administration is focused on implementing the Treasury's $700 billion financial- market rescue package. The next administration has a lot of decisions to make," Fratto said. "They have policies that they are looking at. But what we're focused on right now are implementing the authorities that we have to support the economy in the best way possible." Bush returned from the APEC summit late Sunday. At the summit, he continued to push for free trade, specifically a proposed trans-Pacific free-trade area. Bush met Chinese President Hu Jintao on the sidelines of the summit and briefed cabinet officials Monday on that meeting. U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in Beijing next month for the fifth Strategic Economic Dialogue. -By Henry J. Pulizzi, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9256; henry.pulizzi@ dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires 11-24-08 1211ET Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (2081)	11/24/2008 1:10:27 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 103300

Obama names his economic team Geithner nominated as Treasury chief, Summers picked as director of National Economic Council. By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer Last Updated: November 24, 2008: 12:06 PM ET money.cnn.com NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- President-elect Barack Obama named key members of his administration's economic team Monday, including New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner as his Treasury Secretary nominee and former Harvard President Lawrence Summers as the director of the National Economic Council. Obama's announcement was scheduled just hours after the federal government announced a massive rescue package for Citigroup - which President Bush said he'd spoken with Obama about before it was announced. Mission No. 1 over the next few weeks for Obama's economic team will be hammering out the details of what the president-elect described this weekend as a two-year economic recovery plan intended to create 2.5 million jobs. Estimates for how much might be spent on a multi-year stimulus package range as high as $500 billion to $700 billion. At the center of the plan are investments in the nation's roads, bridges, schools and alternative-energy infrastructure. Obama's top economic team member - his Treasury Secretary - will also be charged with overseeing the dispersal of funds from the controversial $700 billion financial rescue package that Congress passed in October. Word last week that Obama was likely to nominate Geithner, 47, as his Treasury Secretary sent stocks soaring on Friday. Geithner, highly respected both on Wall Street and in the Capitol's corridors, has already been playing a central role in the Treasury's and Federal Reserve's efforts to stabilize the financial system. His nomination is expected to provide the kind of continuity in the Treasury's financial rescue efforts that will be welcome in the markets and among lawmakers. Bush said Monday morning that Paulson is working closely with the Obama transition team. As the head of Obama's National Economic Council, Summers will coordinate economic policy-making and economic policy advice for the president. Summers, who turns 54 this month, is considered one of the country's most pre-eminent - and controversial - economists, and he served as Treasury Secretary for two years during the Clinton administration. Obama also announced that economist Christina Romer will be director his Council of Economic Advisors, which provides economic analysis and advice to the president. Romer is a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-director of the monetary economics programs at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). NBER is the group that officially determines when U.S. recessions begin and end. Big stimulus to be signed quickly Obama's plans to boost the economy aren't likely to be limited to investing in infrastructure and energy initiatives. Several other measures are expected as well. Among some of the possibilities discussed: direct federal aid to states and cities, tax cuts for low- and middle-income Americans, increased food stamp payments, and a tax credit for businesses that create new jobs in the United States. Whatever Obama and his economic team ultimately decide to include in the economic recovery package, it's expected that Congress will have the final legislation ready for the president-elect's signature the day he's inaugurated. First Published: November 24, 2008: 5:55 AM ET