CURRENT NEWS ITEM: PAULSON AND BERNANKE DEFEND BAILOUT

TOP - 50 RELEVANT BREAKING NEWS

1. Paulson, Bernanke defend $700 billion bailout

   WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress Tuesday he opposes tapping a $700 billion taxpayer-funded bailout pool to help struggling U.S. automakers.

2. Paulson, Bernanke defend $700B bailout

   Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke waged a stout defense on Capitol Hill Tuesday of their management of a $700 billion financial bailout just one week after the administration abandoned the original strategy behind the rescue.

3. Paulson, Bernanke to brief lawmakers on bailout

   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will give leading Democrats in Congress on Monday an update on how the $700 billion financial bailout bill is working, congressional aides said.

4. Paulson, Bernanke brief lawmakers on bailout

   WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke came to Capitol Hill on Monday to field questions from leading Democrats on how the $700 billion financial bailout bill is working.

5. Paulson, Bernanke Defend Controversial TARP Reallocation

   The value of the controversial $700 billion financial rescue program has "already been demonstrated," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke assured Congress Tuesday. The liquidity injections under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) are helping to stabilize the banking system, Bernanke said, although he noted that credit conditions "are still far from normal."

6. Paulson, Bernanke, and Congress on the Bailout: Incompetence All Around

7. Audit of $700B Financial Sector Bailout Fuels Criticisms of Paulson, Bernanke

   Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chief Ben Bernanke, architects of the $700B bailout, are facing increased scrutiny from lawmakers.

8. Bernanke, Paulson seek global help as crisis spreads

   Federal Reserve chairman Ben S. Bernanke and treasury secretary Henry Paulson are discovering both the leeway and limits they have as policy makers as they struggle to combat the 14-month-old credit crisis.

9. Bush, Paulson reverse course in bailout plan

   The Bush administration's latest effort to resolve the financial crisis embraces an approach it had resisted just a few weeks ago. But things move fast in the bailout world.

10. Paulson's 250bn bailout is not enough Meredith Whitney

    The American banking sector is far from being "out of the woods" despite the US government's plan to inject 250bn £144bn into the nation's financial institutions warns leading analyst Meredith Whitney.

11. Financial crisis: Ben Bernanke urges US to consider second bailout

    The head of America's central bank has called for the US to consider distributing a second fiscal stimulus package to kickstart the country's ailing economy

12. Ben Bernanke urges US to consider second bailout

    The head of America's central bank has called for the US to consider distributing a second fiscal stimulus package to kickstart the country's ailing economy

13. White House Officials Defend Bailout Package

    Top White House officials yesterday defended the Bush administration's handling of the federal bailout package, but warned that it will take time for the plan to have a clear impact on the struggling economy.

14. The Paulson-Bernanke Factor

    WSJ: "Pressing tasks for President-elect Barack Obama's new economic team ... will be to calm markets and decide which of the Bernanke-Paulson decisions to endorse and which to seek to alter."      

15. Senators to Paulson: Bailout Funds Are For Lending

    Two senators say financial institutions should not use TARP funds to buy healthy banks

16. Paulson to give update today on financial bailout

    Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is scheduled to give an update today on the $700 billion bailout program for the U.S. financial system.

17. 3 Reasons Behind Hank Paulson’s Bailout Flip-Flop

18. Paulson Says Treasury Is Shifting Focus of Bailout

    Henry M. Paulson Jr. said he was backing away from buying troubled mortgage assets in favor of a second round of capital injections into financial institutions.

19. Paulson announces change in focus of bailout plan

    Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is now saying that the $700-billion U.S. government rescue program will not be used to purchase troubled assets as originally planned.

20. Stocks plunge after Treasury's Paulson changes financial bailout strategy

    The Dow sinks 411 points as investors are rattled by the grim outlook for consumer spending, a further drop in oil prices and the Treasury Department's reversal. More glum news on consumer spending and a reversal in the Treasury Department's plan to buy troubled mortgage-related debt from the country's banks combined to drive the stock market to its third straight loss Wednesday.

21. Paulson cancels key part of financial bailout

    Funds from the $700-billion program will not be used to buy troubled mortgage securities, but efforts to revive the credit markets will continue. The Bush administration dropped the centerpiece of its $700-billion financial rescue plan Wednesday, reflecting the remarkable extent to which senior government officials have been flying by the seat of their pants in dealing with the deepening economic crisis.

22. Paulson commits half of $700bn bailout plan to consumer credit

    US stocks extended losses yesterday after Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said he plans to use the second half of the $700bn financial rescue programme to help relieve pressures on consumer credit, scrapping an effort to buy devalued mortgage assets.

23. Paulson announces U-turn over US government bailout

    The US government has staged a U-turn on its plans for bailing out the country's financial system, saying that it no longer intends to buy the toxic mortgage assets at the heart of the credit crisis.

24. Paulson: 700BN Rescue Bailout Not for Auto Makers

    Chrysler, Ford and General Motors might well not benefit from the US700 billion rescue package which is meant to rejuvenate the financial services industry.

25. Sarah Palin Smear Hoax, Henry Paulson Changes Bailout, Barack Obama Wants to Talk With Iran

26. Hillary Clinton a Candidate for Secretary of State, Henry Paulson and Bailout Blunders, Obama and McCain to Meet

27. Paulson Credit-Card Bailout Draws Growing Criticism

    Why consumers don't need boost from the TARP fund

28. House Democratic Leaders Meet With Paulson, Bernanke

    Speaker Pelosi and other leaders urge the Treasury Secretary and Fed Chair to "take immediate action" to help those dealing with home foreclosures. “The solutions to the problem at the root of our economic crisis – aggressively addressing home foreclosures – have been known for some time.  Further delay in implementing these solutions is unacceptable." Read statement [...]

29. Pelosi, House Dems meet with Paulson and Bernanke

    Leading House Democrats met Monday with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to receive an update on the $700 billion financial rescue program put in place before Congress recessed for the November election. Speaking briefly at the start of the meeting, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Democrats had concerns about the change in direction of the program since Congress authorized it.

30. Congress set to question Paulson, Bernanke

    WASHINGTON (AP) -- The two top salesmen for a $700 billion financial bailout are in for a grilling by Capitol Hill lawmakers just one week after the administration officially ditched the original strategy behind the rescue....

31. Bernanke and Paulson Head Back to the Hill

    The two top salesmen for a $700 billion financial bailout are in for a grilling by Capitol Hill lawmakers just one week after the administration officially ditched the original strategy behind the rescue, The Associated Press reported. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are expected to provide greater insights into the shift [...]

32. FINANCIAL CRISIS: Paulson to leave rest of bailout package for Obama administration

    US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said on Monday that he will likely leave the remainder of a $700 billion bailout of the finance sector for when president-elect Barack Obama takes office on Jan. 20, 2009.

33. Paulson defends bailout spending

    Nov 18 - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the $700-billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, should not be used to purchase so-called toxic assets

34. Lawmakers press Paulson on bailout plan changes

    Faced with exasperated lawmakers upset by shifts in bailout strategy, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson launched a spirited defense Tuesday of his handling of the $700 billion program and expressed fresh reservations about tapping the pool for mortgage guarantees to relieve skyrocketing home foreclosures.

35. Lawmakers Blast Paulson's Management of Bailout

    Lawmakers accused Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. yesterday of haphazardly managing the $700 billion financial rescue, as fault lines widened over what the government should try next to contain the fallout of the financial crisis.

36. Lawmakers grill Paulson on bailout plan

    Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson launched a spirited defense Tuesday of his handling of the $700 billion program and expressed fresh reservations about tapping the pool for mortgage guarantees to relieve skyrocketing home foreclosures.