Paulson and Bernanke Grilled on the Bailout

Staff / Truthdig Nov 19, 2008 On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke faced a lineup of vexed, perplexed and otherwise agitated members of Congress, including Reps. Barney Frank, Ron Paul and Nydia Velazquez, all eager to ask some serious questions about the infamous bailout. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fed Chief Wants More Stimulation

Staff / Truthdig Oct 21, 2008 Ben Bernanke doesn't really care if you call it a recession or, in his words, "a very serious slowdown in the economy." Whatever it is, the chairman of the Federal Reserve thinks a new stimulus package is needed to get those terrified Americans dipping into their mattresses and buying things again. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

And Now, Even More Bad Financial News

Staff / Truthdig Oct 8, 2008 There will hopefully come a day when the news from Wall Street is actually good (at the moment, anything better than utterly terrifying news would be nice), but Tuesday was not that day, despite Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's intimations that help could soon be on the way. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Timeline: The Global Credit Crisis

Staff / Truthdig Oct 6, 2008 To help all those still reeling from sudden onset econo-tastrophe syndrome, the BBC has put together a handy timeline, which connects the dots between events over the last couple years but doesn't quite take the long view, thus leaving out a few key moments and players from, say, the 1990s (paging Phil Gramm). Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Fed Chief: Pass a Bailout or Else

Staff / Truthdig Sep 24, 2008 How's this for not mincing words? "I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way." So sayeth Ben Bernanke on Tuesday, in a dire warning to Congress. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Krugman on Bank Collapse and ‘1931 Revisited’

Staff / Truthdig Sep 16, 2008 Financial columnist Paul Krugman, trying to make sense of the Lehman Brothers debacle, warns that "the defenses set up to prevent a return of those bank runs, mainly deposit insurance and access to credit lines with the Federal Reserve, only protect the guys in the marble buildings, who aren’t at the heart of the current crisis. That creates the real possibility that 2008 could be 1931 revisited." Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Fed Forecasts Economic Gloom

Staff / Truthdig Jul 9, 2008 Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke expects America's economic struggles to continue well into next year and has asked Congress to expand his regulatory powers. Lawmakers are unlikely to fulfill his request any time soon. Bernanke also suggested that the Fed could continue to bail out investment banks. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Greenspan Talks Recession as Oil Prices Soar

Staff / Truthdig Jun 25, 2008 Seems like everything is a crisis these days, what with the subprime mortgage crisis, the oil crisis and, perhaps most troubling of all, the climate change crisis. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan acknowledged the complexity and interconnectedness of these unsettling trends Tuesday, stopping short of declaring that a major recession is on the way but without ruling out a recession of lesser magnitude. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush’s Legacy of Failure

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Mar 18, 2008 That idiotic "what, me worry?" look just never leaves the man's visage. Once again there was our president, presiding over disasters in part of his making and totally on his watch, grinning with an aplomb that suggested a serious disconnect between his worldview and existing reality. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

One Measly Point — Is That Too Much to Ask?

Andy Borowitz / Truthdig May 20, 2006 The satirist tells us that Bush, feeling low as he contemplates his public approval rating, has turned to a man who knows a thing or two about numbers. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )