Wall Street bailout – News Stories About Wall Street bailout - Page 9

Obama May Cap Pay of Bailed-Out Execs at $500K

Feb 3, 2009 11:31 PM CST

Obama May Cap Pay of Bailed-Out Execs at $500K

Pay to be capped at $500,000, bonuses canceled

(Newser) - The Obama administration plans to announce sharp new limits today on how much executives of bailed-out companies can make, the New York Times reports. The rules, still being hammered out, would cap the pay of top executives at $500,000 and bar them from receiving any bonuses apart from normal...

Under Pressure, Wells Fargo Cancels Vegas Junket

updated

Feb 3, 2009 7:51 PM CST

Under Pressure, Wells Fargo Cancels Vegas Junket

(Newser) - Wells Fargo, which received $25 billion in TARP funds, has canceled a swanky corporate retreat in Las Vegas after criticism began to mount, the AP reports. The bank had booked 12 nights at two pricey hotels to recognize top employees. Wells Fargo initially defended the retreat when news of it...

Bailout Firms Lobbied
Big Time for TARP Funds

Feb 3, 2009 1:53 PM CST

Bailout Firms Lobbied Big Time for TARP Funds

Spending on charities, sponsored meetings topped $330,000

(Newser) - Several of the firms who would receive taxpayer funds from the TARP bailout spent money on meetings and charitable gifts that benefited lawmakers, the Hill reports. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for example, donated $330,000 in the last 6 months of 2008 to politically affiliated charities. Bank of America,...

BofA Takes Another $20B
Bailout on $10B Merrill Loss

Jan 16, 2009 7:01 AM CST

BofA Takes Another $20B Bailout on $10B Merrill Loss

Crippled by unforeseen losses and falling stock price, B of A puts its hand out. Again.

(Newser) - Bank of America, sucker-punched by unforeseen losses from its takeover of Merrill Lynch, received another injection of $20 billion from the Treasury, the Wall Street Journal reports, bringing the total cost of BofA’s bailout to $45 billion. BofA’s shares shed 40% of their value in the past seven...

Senate Releases TARP Funds

Jan 15, 2009 5:14 PM CST

Senate Releases TARP Funds

(Newser) - The Senate agreed to let loose the remaining TARP funds today by a relatively slim margin, the Hill reports. The 52-42 vote means Obama should have access to the $350 billion about a week after he takes office. The House hasn't voted yet, but the TARP legislation requires only one...

Bailout Hasn't Failed,
But Banks Need More

ANALYSIS

Jan 14, 2009 1:09 PM CST

Bailout Hasn't Failed, But Banks Need More

(Newser) - The Wall Street bailout has not failed, but it hasn’t worked yet, either, as evidenced by the renewed call from Barack Obama and the Fed to release more TARP funds, the New York Times reports. Banks that received bailout funds are clamoring for more to stabilize their finances, but...

Quit Griping About
Bailout: It's Working

OPINION

Jan 14, 2009 11:18 AM CST

Quit Griping About Bailout: It's Working

Was it fair? Nope, but who cares?

(Newser) - Critics of the Treasury’s $700 billion bailout—and there are so many of them these days—grouse that it’s done nothing but line the pockets of undeserving bankers. “Maybe I’m missing something,” writes Steven Pearlstein of the Washington Post, “but I don’t see...

Fed Push Likely
Behind Citi Breakup

Jan 13, 2009 3:10 AM CST

Fed Push Likely Behind Citi Breakup

Citi's brokerage sale could signal regulators' plans for 'new order' in banking industry

(Newser) - The expected sale of Citigroup's brokerage business could be the first step in a government-instigated plan to cut the financial behemoth down to a manageable size, analysts tell Marketwatch. Citibank's CEO said only last month that the group had the right business mix, and many believe his sudden about-face is...

Bush Plays Hardball to Get Remaining Bailout Funds

Jan 9, 2009 4:56 PM CST

Bush Plays Hardball to Get Remaining Bailout Funds

President plans request for $350B, threatens veto if Congress demurs

(Newser) - President Bush and President-Elect Obama both want the second half of the $700 billion in bailout funds released, and if Congress votes against it, whichever one is in office has the right to veto their "no" vote, the Washington Post reports. With many lawmakers opposing the measure, the two...

Rubin Quits Citi;
Smith Barney for Sale

Jan 9, 2009 3:15 PM CST

Rubin Quits Citi; Smith Barney for Sale

Ex-Treasury Sec. saw company's stock dive 90% since late '06

(Newser) - Former Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin is leaving his posts at struggling Citigroup, the Wall Street Journal reports. He retired as a senior counselor effective today, and won’t pursue another term on the board of directors. Journal sources also say Citigroup is in talks to sell Smith Barney, its brokerage...

Wall Street Dominates List
of Inaugural Donors

Jan 9, 2009 1:30 PM CST

Wall Street Dominates List of Inaugural Donors

Big banks (yeah, those big banks) have bundled huge donations for the bash

(Newser) - Private donations to defray the cost of Barack Obama's inauguration festivities total $27.3 million—and large donors, including Wall Street executives flush with bailout cash, chipped in $24.8 million, the Wall Street Journal reports. That runs counter to the vow to remain independent of special interests that led...

Bailout Success Will Teach Wrong Lesson

OPINION

Jan 1, 2009 5:03 AM CST

Bailout Success Will Teach Wrong Lesson

Rescuing firms from mess they created will send message that bills don't need to be paid

(Newser) - America needs to learn some hard lessons that a $700 billion bailout of the economy isn't going to teach, David Ignatius writes in the Washington Post. If the the country manages to dodge a depression, the message will be that irresponsible behavior brings a rescue, and that bills don't need...

Lawyers Are
Big Winners
in Bailout

Dec 29, 2008 8:00 AM CST

Lawyers Are Big Winners in Bailout

Veterans of S&L bailouts in catbird seat in current crisis

(Newser) - For a tight-knit group of former top government officials, the current financial crisis is a golden opportunity. Veterans of the savings and loan bailout of the 1990s, these operatives, now mostly lawyers and bank advisers, are doing a brisk business telling clients how to profit from the meltdown, the New ...

GM Finance
Arm Converts,
Will Tap Bailout

Dec 24, 2008 4:43 PM CST

GM Finance Arm Converts, Will Tap Bailout

Fed approves GMAC's request to become bank-holding company

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve today approved a request by General Motors’ financial arm to become a bank-holding company so it can petition for money from the $700 billion bailout pot, the Wall Street Journal reports. GMAC would also have access to direct Fed loans, helping loosen credit and complement the $17....

Wall Street Execs
Still Fly Private Jets

Dec 22, 2008 5:47 AM CST

Wall Street Execs Still Fly Private Jets

Costly travel rationalized as time saver

(Newser) - Six ailing Wall Street firms that eagerly took bailout funds still spend thousands to operate fleets of private jets that whisk their executives to company—and personal—events, AP reports. AIG, which scooped up $150 billion from the government, beats its peers with a seven-jet fleet. Fuel alone for a...

Bailed-Out Bank Execs
Made $1.6B Last Year

Dec 21, 2008 3:45 PM CST

Bailed-Out Bank Execs Made $1.6B Last Year

Execs made average of $2.6 million; Merrill Lynch CEO made $83 million

(Newser) - Banks that are getting taxpayer bailouts awarded their top executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses, and other benefits last year, an AP analysis reveals. Benefits at bailed-out institutions like Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, and JPMorgan Chase included cash bonuses, stock options, personal use of company jets and chauffeurs,...

Fast-Track New Stimulus: Pelosi

Dec 15, 2008 5:02 PM CST

Fast-Track New Stimulus: Pelosi

(Newser) - Congressional Democrats are looking to fast-track a $600 billion economic stimulus package in the first weeks of the New Year, the Washington Post reports. Nancy Pelosi said today lawmakers are working with the Obama transition team to craft the plan, which is smaller than the $1 trillion scheme floated earlier....

Bailout Exec Pay
Limits Have No Bite

Dec 15, 2008 7:36 AM CST

Bailout Exec Pay Limits Have No Bite

Critics say White House added language to bailout bill that blunted super-pay language

(Newser) - Thanks to a last-minute change pushed by the Bush administration, the $700 billion bailout has a giant loophole Wall Street executives will be able to float golden parachutes through. Congress put unprecedented restrictions on lofty pay into the final bill, but the only enforceable one became inapplicable after a one-sentence...

Bush: Auto Bailout
'Not Ready'

Dec 15, 2008 3:58 AM CST

Bush: Auto Bailout 'Not Ready'

Deal seems to be grinding gears

(Newser) - The federal auto industry bailout appeared to be stuck in neutral as President Bush warned today that a deal is not imminent. "We're not quite ready to announce that yet," Bush told reporters on a plane to Afghanistan. Lawmakers expected the administration to quickly reallocate part of the...

Yes, It's a Crisis: But We
Still Need a Catchy Name

Dec 12, 2008 10:40 AM CST

Yes, It's a Crisis: But We Still Need a Catchy Name

(Newser) - Though it's no secret the country is weathering a financial calamity, the crisis still lacks a catchy handle. The New York Times takes a look at news organizations' so-far unsuccessful efforts to find one: Some obvious contenders such as “credit crunch” and “Wall Street crisis” have popped up,...