Category: <span>Economy</span>

Obama’s $500,000 Pay Cap for Overpaid Executives – Good Policy or Symbolism

President Barack Obama, along with newly appointed Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, called recent bonus payouts at firms receiving tax payer funded bailouts “shameful” and announced the government will require financial companies getting aid in the future to cap compensation of top officials at $500,000 a year. The compensation restrictions announced…

Final Economic Stimulus and Recovery Package – An American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan

[Update Feb 12]. The Stimulus Plan has been finalized with agreement reached by both parties in Congress. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, released a fact sheet outlining the final elements of the stimulus package. [I have covered a number of these in separate posts]The conference report on American Recovery and Reinvestment…

Funding the Stimulus Packages and Business Bailouts by Printing Money and Issuing Debt

I wrote this article way back in 2008 following the last major stimulus package and bailouts from the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). It scary how much this applies to 2020 following over $4 Trillion of new stimulus packages to rescue the American economy from the Coronavirus induced slowdown. Just replace…

Should the Remaining $350 Billion TARP funds be Released for Obama?

President George W. Bush has requested Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion financial-rescue fund (TARP) on behalf of President-elect Barack Obama. Given the controversy over the lack of oversight and inefficient distribution/usage of the first $350 Billion tranche, a huge political fight and close scrutiny is…

Stimulus Checks – Eligibility and Missing Payments

See this article for the latest on the stimulus check (economic impact) payments [Updated Dec 2010] The Making Work Pay tax credit expires on December 31, 2010. As a result: - The income tax withholding tables for 2011 will no longer be adjusted for the Making Work Pay credit. There…

How Long will the Current Recession Last? Not as Long as You Think

Many are calling the 2008-2009 worst recession since the great depression. Or, most succinctly the Great Depression 2. No doubt the news is bad and all the major economic indicators signal that growth is slowing at a quickening pace. But the question on most people's minds is how long will…

Will the Bailed-out Automakers be Back for More Money?

As I write this it looks like the US automakers bailout (or rescue plan) is a done deal. Bloomberg reports that Congress and President George W. Bush are negotiating the final details of a $15 to $17 billion measure to fund the automakers till the new Obama administration is in…

Feds Beige Book Update and Commentary: Turbulence Ahead

The latest Federal Reserve Beige Book was released today and as expected the news was grim, which almost guarantees a substantial interest rate cut next week. The beige book contains the Fed's latest snapshot of business and economic conditions looking at factors such as housing, manufacturing, credit, prices, wages and…

Economic Recovery Advisory Board (ERAB) – Brilliant or more Bureaucracy

In a continuing revelation of the economic team(s) to support his administration and its policy development, President-Elect Obama announced the formation of a new panel called the Economic Recovery Advisory Board (ERAB). The board's mission will be to give President-Elect Obama and his administration expert "outsider" policy advice on lifting…

Presidential Advice from the Economy to Health Care

I think we can all agree on is that the time for words is over. It is all about action and execution now. Here are the key focus topics our President should be considering. The Economy The number issue on the minds of most Americans is the failing economy and…

Things should get better by 2010

A very cool graphic from the Economist looking at the GDP, Unemployment and Inflation forecasts for the US, Japan, Euro Zone and OECD. As leaders of the G20 countries gather in Washington, these factors and their forecasts will be key when decisions are made. 2009 looks like a global write-off…

Bad Assets not the Problem; its the Banks and Consumers Stupid!

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson announced that he has shelved the original plan to buy troubled mortgage assets via the recently approved $700 Billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Instead he will use the remaining funds to assist non-bank financial institutions and promote consumer finance initiatives. In a striking admission, Paulson…

China Flexes Economic Stimulus Muscle

The Chinese government announced it would spend an estimated $586 billion by 2010 on a wide array of national infrastructure and social welfare projects, including constructing new railways, subways, power stations and airports to combat a domestic and global slowdown. With China’s gross domestic product (GDP) around $3.5 trillion this…

Here comes the Next Round of Stimulus Payments

In further proof that the government is trying to spend it's way out of the current financial crisis, the federal reserve chief - Ben Bernanke - signaled his support for a second round of fiscal stimulus'. The usual fear mongering lines of "dire consequences", "grave doubts of our future" and…

Category: Economy