TresSugar

Front Page: Treasury Unveils $1 Trillion Plan For Banks

CitizenSugar — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 07:49:10 -0700

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled a complex plan today to end the nation's banking crisis. A new federal entity would help private investors buy as much as $1 trillion in devalued real-estate assets. - New York Times
Fourteen people died after a plane crashed into a Montana cemetery last night. - CNN
JPMorgan Chase, which has received $25 billion in bailout funds, plans on buying two luxury corporate jets and a luxury aircraft hanger at the cost of $138 million. - ABC News
Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez says comments from President Obama have made him reconsider his plan to send an ambassador to Washington. - Reuters
Three police officers were killed and a fourth is brain dead after a shooting in Oakland, CA, this weekend. - San Francisco Chronicle

Obama Will Try to Block AIG Bonuses - Are You On Board?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:00:42 -0700

President Obama has ordered Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to do what he can to block millions of dollars in bonuses to AIG executives. The insurance giant has received billions in taxpayer money, but still plans to pay out $165 million to executives and traders working at the failing company.

Taxpayers have footed over $175 billion to AIG, which is now 80 percent owned by the government. AIG says it's contractually obligated to pay the bonuses, but the Obama administration will make its case to the contrary.

Today Obama said, "All across the country, there are people who work hard and meet their responsibilities every day, without the benefit of government bailouts or multimillion-dollar bonuses."

Trying to appease public outrage over abuses is behind Obama's move. Will it make you feel better about the bailout?

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Obama Administration Talks to Main Street and Wall Street

CitizenSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 08:43:04 -0800

This morning Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled the Obama administration's new bailout plan, making it clear that the new plan is intended to be swift, comprehensive, and transparent. He conceded:

The spectacle of huge amounts of taxpayer money being provided to the same institutions that helped cause the crisis, with limited transparency and oversight, added to the public distrust. American people have lost faith in the leaders of our financial institutions and are skeptical that their government has - to this point - used taxpayers’ money in ways that will benefit them.

Touching on the credit crisis, executive compensation, the housing crisis, and rising unemployment, Geithner emphasized that the Treasury is in touch with the concerns of the American public. He said:

We believe that access to public support is a privilege, not a right. When our government provides support to banks, it is not for the benefit of banks, it is for the businesses and families who depend on banks . . . and for the benefit of the country.

And if Americans want to see how that money is working for them, they can check out FinancialStability.gov.

Meanwhile, the President is tackling the $800 billion stimulus plan set to pass through the Senate today. In last night's press conference, Obama came off confident, but he also had the patience and humbleness to justify his imperfect plan.

In tandem, the Obama administration is sending a clear message: The plans are not perfect, but the failure to act is not an option.

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Do You Care If Obama's Treasury Pick Didn't Pay His Taxes?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 00:01:52 -0800

Timothy Geithner, the man who wants to spend trillions of dollars in taxpayer money as the next US Treasury Secretary, forgot to pay his own taxes. No, it didn't just slip his mind one year when he was living under a rock leading up to April 15 - from 2001 to 2004 Geithner failed to pay $34,000 in taxes while working abroad for the International Monetary Fund.

Thanks to Obama's transition team's super detective work, Geithner realized his mistake and apparently paid the years-late taxes days before Obama publicly tapped him for the job. The drama doesn't stop there. The transition team also disclosed the fact that Geithner hadn't realized that in 2005 his housekeeper's legal immigration employment documentation lapsed for the last few months she worked for him. Do these spots on Geithner's record make you question Obama's choice?

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What Do You Know About the Next US Treasury Secretary?

LibertySugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:30:05 -0800

Barack Obama has put his money on Timothy Geithner as the man to fix America's economic woes. When news leaked that Obama would tap Geithner, the head of the New York Federal Reserve, to serve as the next Treasury Secretary, the stock market soared. Take this quiz to find out what you know, and what might surprise you, about Obama's nominee for the most crucial position in his cabinet.

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Markets Rally as Obama Narrows in on Economic Team

CitizenSugar — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 07:00:28 -0800

The Dow Jones shot up yesterday, closing almost 500 points ahead, after news broke that President-elect Obama would tap Timothy Geithner to be treasury secretary. Geithner currently serves as the chief of the New York Federal Reserve. The news helped reduce uncertainty in the markets, and pushed the Dow above 8,000 points.

Geithner, 47, served in the Treasury Department under Clinton's secretary Larry Summers. He has helped current Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson try to steer the US out of the financial mess. An official announcement is expected Monday. Obama will also name New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson Commerce Secretary, according to reports.

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Front Page: Judges to Release Thousands of CA Prisoners

CitizenSugar — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 07:54:03 -0800

A panel of federal judges has backed a one-third reduction in California's state prison population. As many as 57,000 people may be released because overcrowding violates their right to adequate healthcare, which has resulted in the unnecessary death of one inmate per week. - Los Angeles Times
Today Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will unveil the Obama administration's new plan to bail out banks. Geithner is said to have prevailed, over others on the Obama team, in resisting severe limits on executive pay and dictating how banks can spend rescue money. - New York Times

Peanut butter manufactures not affected by the recent salmonella outbreak are doing their best to tell public that their products are safe. - CNN
General Motors has announced plans to cut 10,000 salaried workers and reduce pay for those who remain by 10 percent, as part of the restructuring plan it must submit to the federal government in hopes of keeping billions in loans. - International Herald Tribune

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Front Page: Home Values Fall by Nearly 20 Percent

LibertySugar — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:00:25 -0800

Home prices across 20 major US cities fell an average of 18.2 percent in November, compared to prices from a year earlier. While the slide has made homes more affordable, foreclosures have resulted in $1 trillion in losses worldwide. - Bloomberg
Timothy Geithner officially became Treasury Secretary yesterday, after the Senate confirmed his nomination. Geithner's first act will limit the influence of lobbyists seeking bailout funds. – Washington Post
Barack Obama's aunt will be allowed to the stay in the US while an immigration proceeding determines her status. The half-sister of Obama's father was ordered to leave the country in 2004 but remained in Boston.- Boston Herald
With President Obama's Mideast envoy's first mission underway, Egypt has expressed hope that a permanent truce in Gaza can be reached by early February. - International Herald Tribune

A California woman gave birth to octuplets Monday. The eight babies are only the second known set of octuplets born in the US. - Voice of America
Citigroup has abandoned plans to purchase a $50 million jet, after defending the purchase as a smart business deal. Reports are that officials from the Obama administration called the bank and told them to "fix it." - ABC News

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Front Page: South Africa Denies Dalai Lama Entrance

CitizenSugar — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 07:52:39 -0700

Organizers of a peace conference in South Africa have canceled the event after the government denied a visa to the Dalai Lama. - New York Times
Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner is asking Congress today for unprecedented power to seize non-banking financial companies. - AP
The recent volcano eruption in Alaska has made a case for the volcano monitoring funding included in Obama's stimulus package and criticized by many. - Washington Post
The crew aboard the Discovery space shuttle has been expecting a call from President Obama before they return home. - AP
China has blocked YouTube, reportedly because it included video of soldiers beating monks and other Tibetans. - BBC News

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Front Page: Bernie Madoff Pleads Guilty and Faces Victims

CitizenSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 07:30:05 -0700

Bernie Madoff plead guilty to all charges this morning. Some of his victims are expected to speak, and the judge will soon decide if he should go directly to jail. - New York Times
The teenage gunman who killed 15 people in Germany warned of the attack in an Internet chatroom. - AP
The Iraqi journalist who threw his shoe at President Bush was sentenced to three years in prison for assaulting a foreign leader. - LA Times
President Obama and Timothy Geithner have received low grades from one set of economists. - Wall Street Journal
The new US drug czar will emphasize treatment instead of incarceration for drug-related crimes. Unlike past presidents, Obama did not make the drug policy director a cabinet position. - Washington Post

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