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Timothy Geithner, you're on your own. If Geithner, who was confirmed as Treasury Secretary late Monday, plans on waiting until a consensus forms on what to do with the second half of the $700 billion bank rescue fund approved by Congress in early October, he may be waiting awhile. Economists, Wall Streeters and industry analysts are split on how best to spend what remains in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which has done anything but offer relief...
Bank stocks have continued to plummet since the program was started in mid-October. Two of the nation's largest banks, Citigroup and Bank of America, have had to tap the relief fund twice, yet neither bank appears any more stable. Indeed, concerns about Bank of America's insolvency have grown, not shrunk, in the past few months. What's more, none of the government money spent so far has done anything to increase lending or lower foreclosures. (See the best business deals...
What's clear is that Geithner, unlike his predecessor Henry Paulson, does not face a growing chorus of voices calling for a particular plan. Initially, Paulson was reportedly in favor of spending TARP money to buy up troubled assets. But shortly after the bank rescue fund passed Congress, a flood of economists came out against Paulson's plan. Instead, most policy experts advocated a plan to inject capital into the banks by buying preferred shares. The latter strategy would be quicker to implement and would do a better job of stimulating lending. Britain was instituting a similar plan...
...chill that came with this program may have turned to a deep freeze in regard to Madoff. The same year the pre-authorization policy was enacted, SEC examiners gave Madoff's organization, after registering as an investment adviser, a clean bill of health. Just months earlier hedge fund whistle-blower Harry Markopoulos had given SEC enforcement officials 29 red flags about Madoff's $50 billion fund, presciently calling it the world's biggest Ponzi scheme. Nobody cared. (See pictures of the demise of Bernard Madoff...
...having the tools to stop new Madoffs, Schapiro at her hearing said, "One has to conclude that the [SEC's] tools were not up to the task." She added that the agency may "need a significant bolstering." As for better hedge fund transparency and disclosure, she said, "corporate disclosure has to be complete and accessible; with hedge funds I would like to see disclosure...