Here is the “Leaders Declaration“ for the Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy (aka the G-20 Summit) hosted by President Bush last Friday and Saturday in Washington, DC. This is the second of a two-part note. Here’s the first part. A fair amount of the press coverage followed a ready-made storyline: “Lame duck President […]
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The President's speech on financial markets and the world economy
President Bush spoke at the Manhattan Institute today on financial markets and the world economy. This speech is a prelude to the financial summit the President will host this weekend. I’ll write separately about the Summit, and about the elements of today’s speech that talk about principles for reform. I want to draw your attention […]
Read moreAre banks hoarding taxpayer investments?
We’re getting questions about whether banks that receive taxpayer funds from the Treasury are “hoarding” that cash, rather than using it to support lending. We know that banks aren’t hoarding yet, since at most they’ve had cash for two days. Remember that there is a two-fold purpose to this program: (1) strengthen the banking system […]
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What caused this financial mess?
President Bush spoke today about the financial crisis to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. I’m going to use the President’s speech as an opportunity to explain to a non-financial audience what the Federal government did this week and why. I will oversimplify in many cases, and will gloss over many details. I don’t claim that […]
Read morePresident's Working Group on Financial Markets documents
The President’s Working Group on Financial Markets met at 8:30 AM today to announce the specifics of the new policy actions described by the President in the Rose Garden earlier this morning. This note is just a collection of primary source documents from today’s announcement. Generalists will likely be interested in the first six documents, […]
Read moreRose Garden Statement by President Bush on financial markets
President Bush spoke at 8:02 AM this morning in the Rose Garden. Good morning. I just completed a meeting with my working group on financial markets. We discussed the unprecedented and aggressive steps the federal government is taking to address the financial crisis. Over the past few weeks, my administration has worked with both parties […]
Read moreAddress by President Bush on financial markets
President Bush gave a major policy address on the State Floor of the White House this evening. THE WHITE HOUSE State Floor 9:01 P.M. EDT THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. This is an extraordinary period for America’s economy. Over the past few weeks, many Americans have felt anxiety about their finances and their future. I understand […]
Read moreRose Garden Statement by President Bush on the Economy
Here’s what President Bush said at 10:45 AM today in the Rose Garden. This is really important. Good morning. I thank Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, and SEC Chairman Chris Cox for joining me today. This is a pivotal moment for America’s economy. Problems that originated in the credit markets — […]
Read moreMore oil supply
In May of 2007, I wrote Why are gas prices high, and what can we do about it? At the time, the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.22. The national average price is now 59 cents higher, at $3.81 per gallon. That’s down 30 cents from a high of […]
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20 November 2008 

