Taxpayers to Buy Bad Bank Assets

Staff / Truthdig Mar 23, 2009 What a deal! Timothy Geithner's new plan to save the banks from themselves commits American taxpayers to a massive purchase of the toxic assets that the banks had originally insisted were risk-free investments. Of course, Wall Street loved the news. Update Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Obama Aiming to Block AIG Bonuses

Staff / Truthdig Mar 16, 2009 AIG's dishing out $165 million in bonuses to executives who played a part in bringing their company to near ruin is an "outrage," according to President Barack Obama, who pledged to do whatever he can to stop the payouts at the bailed-out insurance giant. Updated Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

AIG to Dish Out $165 Million in Post-Bailout Bonuses

Staff / Truthdig Mar 15, 2009 The tug of war continues between corporate financial giants and the federal government, and certain members of the former seem to have some trouble adjusting to their post-bailout status. AIG, for example, is still planning to reward its top 400 executives with a whopping $165 million in bonuses this weekend, even after the company was given more than $170 billion from taxpayers to stay afloat. Updated Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Bank of America, Literally

Staff / Truthdig Jan 16, 2009 The taxpayers' bank opened a new branch on Thursday: Uncle Sam just threw $20 billion Bank of America's way. The government is also on the hook for $118 billion more in crap assets. Bank of America chief Ken Lewis calls it the "deal of a lifetime." No kidding. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Regulator Gave Blessing to IndyMac Shenanigans

Staff / Truthdig Dec 23, 2008 The Treasury Department's inspector general has been looking into the failure of IndyMac, which set the taxpayers back $8.9 billion, and what he found isn't pretty. It seems a certain regulator let the bank present itself as "well-capitalized" when the truth was something entirely different. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

McCain Announces Economic Plan

Staff / Truthdig Oct 14, 2008 John McCain has laid out his plan for how he would help Americans recover from the recent shocks to the domestic and international markets. He took the action on Tuesday, a day later than he initially said he would and a day after Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama released his own economic plan -- and McCain's timing was not lost on the Obama campaign. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Stocks Zoom as International Financial Community Rallies

Staff / Truthdig Oct 13, 2008 The Dow shot up more than 900 points Monday after nations around the world pitched into the effort to resuscitate the dangerously flagging global marketplace by announcing their own rescue plans. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bush Favors Bankers Over Soldiers

Robert Fisk / Truthdig Sep 30, 2008 By grotesque mischance, $700 billion -- the cost of George Bush's Wall Street rescue plan -- is about the same figure the president has squandered on his preposterous war in Iraq, the war we have now apparently "won" thanks to the "surge." Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

Bailout Deal (Almost) Done

Staff / Truthdig Sep 28, 2008 Early Sunday morning brought word that the end of the drawn-out bailout negotiations between warring factions of the federal government might finally be at hand, although the House and Senate had not yet officially approved terms of the proposed plan. Updated 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 )

News Coverage of Iraq War Plummets

Staff / Truthdig May 31, 2008 If ever there was required reading, this article by Sherry Ricchiardi in the American Journalism Review would be it. News coverage about the Iraq war, whether measured in column inches or broadcast minutes, by American news outlets is becoming a mere blip on the proverbial radar, even as lives and resources are still lost every day. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Ron Paul: Iraq War Will Cost $3.5 Trillion

Staff / Truthdig Nov 20, 2007 It's difficult to fully comprehend the total price tag of the Iraq war, but Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul has made some staggering calculations, coming up with a whopping $3.5 trillion -- including "hidden costs" such as interest on the money we're borrowing, and long-term health care for vets. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )