Fed, Treasury offer 800 billion dlrs more to credit markets

[DogPoundPup]

Source: Raw Story / AFP

US authorities launched fresh efforts Tuesday to unfreeze credit and limit the economic downturn with programs to buy up to 800 billion dollars in mortgage- and asset-backed securities.

The initiatives call for up to 600 billion dollars in Federal Reserve purchases of mortgage securities, and a separate 200 billion dollars for asset-backed securities to help get credit to consumers.

The new efforts come as part of a move to restart consumer credit markets that froze up in October and to get more liquidity and bring down borrowing costs for the housing market, which is at the center of the economic storm.

The effort "attempts to restart the credit markets after the nuclear explosion that occurred in September," said Andrew Busch, analyst at BMO Capital Markets.

Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Fed_Treasury_offer_800_billion_dlrs_11252008.html

[nc4bo]

1. Jeezus. It's like the little Dutch Boy sticking his finger in the dam. nt

[bemildred]

2. Am I the only one that thinks these guys are lost in the fog?

I read through their "explanations", over and over, and I still have no idea what they are doing, it's all a bunch of personified abstract nouns. If I didn't know that it was ridiculous, I'd think they are trying to stall and/or salvage all that fake paper they wrote back during the boom.
:think:

Edit: "they" == Paulsen, Bernanke, and the "Investment Banking" community, creators of the mess.

[Winterblues]

3. They are trying to tie Obama's hands for as many years as possible.

The more they can tie up the money the more they stifle what he can do. When all the money is given to the very wealthiest of us that means the least among us will just suffer more..Sort of how Jesus would have liked it..

[sandnsea]

4. If every household got $10,000

debts could be paid off, which would help clean up the banks' bad assets. Those of us with no debt could spend or put a down payment on a house, and that would get the economy going again. We can't just keep giving money to the banks. This isn't working.

[tama]

8. That's insane :)

Debts paid off is the worst and last thing the system wants - less debt -> less money -> less consumption. Only way for the system to go on is to pile more debt on debt - to go on even for few more days.

[sandnsea]

10. Less debt -> better credit rating -> more spending

There's too much debt right now, that's a big part of the problem.

[tama]

11. Heehee

If you wanna talk really sane, seriously, then let's ban taking interest. Taking interest (usury) leads to system of obligatory continuous growth. And unlimited growth in a limited system - not possible.

PS: More spending is bad. Consumerism is insane. You can't eat the planet and keep it.

[sandnsea]

13. Let's confiscate rich people's money while we're at it

I do not know why people write such crazy shit. Unlimited growth has nothing to do with it. People have to be able to buy things to live. The problem isn't as much with people buying things as it is with the investment balloons created by excess wealth from investment balloons. That has to be regulated so that it stops happening. But that won't fix anything today.

[tama]

15. How is unlimited growth unrelated?

And you simply wrong. People have lived, live and will live without being able to buy things.

[Zhade]

23. Like food and gas?

NT!

[Lost4words]

17. Why Not? Globalization is confiscating our ability to earn a basic living

Its JOBS that is at the core, at least from my perspective.

[Veritas_et_Aequitas]

5. Disgustng.

[Ganja Ninja]

6. Thanks again President Bush and a special thanks to the idiots ...

that voted for you. Who knew restoring honor and dignity to the White House would bankrupt the country, take 8 long years and hundreds of thousand of lives. Fortunately the GOP has died in the process.

[Zhade]

24. Well, let's not forget the fools who voted for the bailout, and the suckers who supported it.

NT!

[jimshoes]

7. All this money is going to be used to pay off

a lot of those credit Default Swaps that these Houses are holding, ergo, a few people get much wealthier, the institutions that wrote them are able to stay in business, and the taxpayers get the bill. Sweet, if you aren't a taxpayer.

[psychopomp]

18. Even more outrageous: So far, the bailout costs more than

The Marshall Plan, Louisiana Purchase, moonshot, S&L bailout, Korean War, New Deal, Iraq war, Vietnam war, and NASA's lifetime budget -- *combined*!

Barry Ritholtz sez,

In doing the research for the "Bailout Nation" book, I needed a way to put the dollar amounts into proper historical perspective.

If we add in the Citi bailout, the total cost now exceeds $4.6165 trillion dollars.

People have a hard time conceptualizing very large numbers, so let’s give this some context. The current Credit Crisis bailout is now the largest outlay In American history.

Crunching the inflation adjusted numbers, we find the bailout has cost more than all of these big budget government expenditures – combined:

• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion

TOTAL: $3.92 trillion

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/25/bailout-costs-more-t.html

[Anywho6]

9. "More crack, please, Sir!!!!" Jebus. How stupid and irresponsible!! n/t

[truthisfreedom]

12. They'll spend ANY AMOUNT OF OUR MONEY to keep the failure off their watch.

All they want is to delay it long enough to have it explode in Obama's lap.

[HopeHoops]

14. Let me get this straight. We spend $10b/month in Iraq so we can't afford....

...
to fix our roads, our schools, and other infrastructure and all I ever hear Republicans whining about is Welfare mothers having more babies so they can get a few extra dollars a month. Do you have to be stupid in math to register as a Republican?

[whosinpower]

16. Once again - he strikes and misses the ball

I just heard a snip on the radio.....

"We are improving the capital position of the banks so they can loan money to the consumers - and that is what is critical and drives the economy."

Translation - We are giving the banks money. This is critical to the banks so they can loan money to you and screw you some more. That drives the economy.

So which comes first? Is it the banks - or is it the consumer/worker? Kinda like the chicken vs the egg scenario. Paulson has declared that it is the banks.

[Zhade]

25. It's a lie, too - lending isn't what drives the economy.

Increased poor and middle class consumer spending WITH ACTUAL EARNED ON-HAND MONEY, NOT LOANS, is what grows the economy. It's Econ 101!

[adam_hartung]

19. Fed spending misplaced

Fed spending $100B to buy loans isn't much different than if the government spent $100B to buy SUVs off the dealer lots. These investments are not helping America, and its companies, become more competitive. We need to focus our assistance on moving forward with new business models that enhance competitiveness so companies can succeed in global markets. Read more at http://www.ThePhoenixPrinciple.com

[JohnWxy]

20. Fed, Treasury offer 800 billion dlrs more to credit markets

Source: Yahoo news

US authorities launched fresh efforts Tuesday to unfreeze credit and limit the economic downturn with programs to buy up to 800 billion dollars in mortgage- and asset-backed securities.

The initiatives call for the Federal Reserve to buy up to 600 billion dollars in mortgage securities, with another 200 billion dollars allocated for asset-backed securities to help get credit to consumers.

"Throughout this financial market turmoil, our focus has been to stabilize the system and support the lending that is vital to our economy," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said.

The new efforts come as part of a move to restart consumer credit markets that froze up in October and to get more liquidity and bring down borrowing costs for the housing market, which is at the center of the economic storm.



Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081125/bs_afp/financeeconomyusbank

[proud patriot]

21. hopefully that'll help my husband

he's been trying to buy this truck
for 2 weeks now .

[msongs]

22. obscene nt