KeithHennessey.com

Despite Secretary Geithner’s statement to the contrary, I still think the Administration is running out of room within the $700 B Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).  In my last four posts on TARP funding (1 2 3 4), I have stuck to what I think I can demonstrate analytically.  I am now going to shift [...]

Last Friday I raised the question of how much funding is left in the TARP.  This is now a broader discussion involving Secretary Geithner and the Treasury staff, the General Accounting Office, the Wall Street Journal and ABC News.  I’d like to review the progression of this topic over the past six days and see [...]

Last Friday I posted that I thought the Administration had less than $40 B of room remaining in the TARP.  The Wall Street Journal reported today Monday that Treasury says “it has about $134.5 billion left in its financial-rescue fund.”  Secretary Geithner addressed this question Sunday on This Week with George Stephanopolous.
GEITHNER: George, we [...]

I think President Obama will soon need to ask Congress for more TARP funding, and that such a request will displace his legislative agenda for a while.  Let’s do the math.
When President Obama took office, $387 B of the $700 B of available TARP funds had already been publicly committed.  Here’s the breakdown.

Public commitment

Banks — [...]

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 to two [...]

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 the [...]

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 their worry and their [...]

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 — and first showed [...]

The President will speak at 10:45 AM.  I’ll send his remarks soon after he has spoken.  Here’s what Secretary Paulson said shortly after 10 AM this morning.
Last night, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, SEC Chairman Chris Cox and I had a lengthy and productive working session with Congressional leaders.  We began a substantive discussion on [...]

On Monday Dr. Edward Lazear, Chairman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, released the Economic Report of the President for 2008.
This traditionally is released a week after the President’s Budget.  It describes the state of the U.S. economy, and also discusses in more detail a range of economic policy issues.  As the ERP is [...]