Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

[D-Mack]

By Tim Ahmann and Caren Bohan

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is seeking new ways to end a credit crisis that is roiling world economies and he warned on Saturday of the vast challenges a worsening economy poses for Americans.

A top adviser to Obama, who takes office on Tuesday, said a fresh approach to the crisis would be unveiled in coming days. A person familiar with the thinking of Obama's team said his administration was considering setting up a government-run bank to acquire bad assets clogging the financial system.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged banks to disclose the true scale of their bad assets as a first step to resolving a crisis that shows little sign of abating and shook financial markets around the globe again this week.

...

In addition to steps to bolster banks, Obama officials want to aggressively attack the underlying causes of the credit crisis, David Axelrod, a top adviser to Obama, told Reuters.

"What we have to do is approach this with a lot more transparency on the front end," Axelrod said about what he called a revamped financial rescue package.

...

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv...4B70ME20090117

I'm not so sure if the transparency will include things like Bloomberg lawsuit .

[don]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

President-elect Barack Obama is riding a powerful wave of optimism into the White House, with Americans confident he can turn the economy around but prepared to give him years to deal with the crush of problems he faces starting Tuesday, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/18/us...l.html?_r=1&hp

I've said from the beginning, this is FIRE's misdirection play magnum opus. You have to give credit where it's due. A beautiful job of playing on so many people's hunger for something relevant, as their lives go up in flames, from Washington in their lives. They'll be disappointed.

In years :confused: We'll see.

[Uno]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

The Republicans did all they could to connect the crisis with the Obama administration time-frame. That was Paulson's real job.

All the republicans have been out for months talking about the "irresponsible spennding of the liberals" before they even get in office.

Now Obama must ensure the CRISIS HITS THE FULL BOTTOM IN EARLY 2009 so that it stays connected with George Bush in the minds of the people.

Forcing a TRUE MARK TO MARKET and pulling all the ghosts out from the bank's closests is exactly what Obama should do.

Watch for a massive stock crash in the next few months - 80% perhaps.

Then Obama has 3 years to improve the economiy prior to the next election.

[Slimprofits]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

[INDENT]U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is seeking new ways to end a credit crisis that is roiling world economies and he warned on Saturday of the vast challenges a worsening economy poses for Americans.

Regarding a Resolution Trust Corp. II style attempt, it was spoken about by Bernanke on Monday, followed by Lacker from the Fed, Paulson, Bair from FDIC and hints from the Obama administration on Friday.

EJ has been contacted by members of Congress about this.

[tsetsefly]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

The Republicans did all they could to connect the crisis with the Obama administration time-frame. That was Paulson's real job.

All the republicans have been out for months talking about the "irresponsible spennding of the liberals" before they even get in office.

Now Obama must ensure the CRISIS HITS THE FULL BOTTOM IN EARLY 2009 so that it stays connected with George Bush in the minds of the people.

Forcing a TRUE MARK TO MARKET and pulling all the ghosts out from the bank's closests is exactly what Obama should do.

Watch for a massive stock crash in the next few months - 80% perhaps.

Then Obama has 3 years to improve the economiy prior to the next election.

I doubt the republicans are this smart but if they are, Obama is walking right into their plan...

I am curious if by 2010 people will be so willing to give him a couple of more years...

[D-Mack]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

I doubt the republicans are this smart but if they are, Obama is walking right into their plan...

I am curious if by 2010 people will be so willing to give him a couple of more years...

It will be months according to Joe

"This guy has it. But he's gonna need your help. Because I promise you, you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, 'Oh, my God, why are they there in the polls? Why is the polling so down? Why is this thing so tough?' We're gonna have to make some incredibly tough decisions in the first two years. So I'm asking you now ... be prepared to stick with us.
http://moralscienceclub.blogspot.com...n-seattle.html

[grapejelly]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

fresh approach?

This is a joke, right?

They LOVE this "crisis" because they can 1) increase government power and 2) spend more and more of our money.

[Mega]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

Question is ...........Good Idea or Bad.

I guess it depends on "the Idea".........Devil in the detail. I quite like the idea of:-

Package up all the bad debt.

Suspend it from the market.

Place it into say a 30 or 50 year bond (pay it down little by little, year by year)

Get lending with "Fresh" cash going again.

Dangers are many:-

Its a "Get out of jail for free card"
"They" decied that you can use this trick every 5 minates
"They" do a "Greenspan" & flood the market with cash.

Thus we NEVER have to face the music & SORT OUR PROBLEMS OUT!

Living on Fansty island fueled with FIAT money!

Mike

[tsetsefly]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

Question is ...........Good Idea or Bad.

I guess it depends on "the Idea".........Devil in the detail. I quite like the idea of:-

Package up all the bad debt.

Suspend it from the market.

Place it into say a 30 or 50 year bond (pay it down little by little, year by year)

Get lending with "Fresh" cash going again.

Dangers are many:-

Its a "Get out of jail for free card"
"They" decied that you can use this trick every 5 minates
"They" do a "Greenspan" & flood the market with cash.

Thus we NEVER have to face the music & SORT OUR PROBLEMS OUT!

Living on Fansty island fueled with FIAT money!

Mike

it is a get out of jail free card and IMO, a pipe dream...

THe thinking seems to be the same, how can we escape 25 years of bad policy with only 1 bad year... As bad as it sounds, its time to pay for "our" mistakes...

[Sharky]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

The only viable way out of this mess is to let the failed institutions fail. Let the strong hands pick up what's left.

Any other approach will just drag things out -- and the longer that goes on, the more difficult the recovery becomes.

I suspect that in their hearts, the Obama team doesn't really want a recovery. They want control, and there's no better way to get that than with a crisis. So they won't let the big offenders fail; they'll bail them out and milk the rest of us dry in the process, all the while bringing on new programs, increased regulation and less freedom.

Sorry, I just don't see how government can solve a problem of this magnitude, especially since they created it in the first place! Unfortunately, the alternative isn't pretty, although I doubt the American public has the stomach for it. No, we're going to ride the train into socialism, just like the UK and the rest of Europe, only with much more unpleasant long-term consequences.

[johnw106]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

They can not let any of the larger commercial banks go bankrupt at this time. And it is not only the banks in the USA which are teetering on the edge. There are several global institutions that are so interconnected if one fails they all fail and the entire global banking system will collpase resulting in anarchy and total chaos.
What is alarming is that the powers that be allowed Lehman Brothers to go under. They severly underestimated the fragility of the global markets.
Once they were allowed a peek into the dark chorridors of the global frakenstein named AIG they finally became aware of how real the threat is. We are not looking at the failure and collapse of the FIRE economy in the USA. We are looking at the end of modern civillisation as we know it.

If people were truly aware of how grave the situation is they would not be so critical of the governments reactions thus far. They would be instead calling out for a larger injection of capital for the major banks and insurance companys and praising the idea of moving the debts into a "bad bank" and concentrating on saving whats left. We can fix the system later.

And as a personal note. I detest bailouts and am a supporter of Ron Paul. I support dibanding the Federal Reserve and consider them nothing more than pirates and thieves. However now is not the time to address these issues.

[BadJuju]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

We are not looking at the failure and collapse of the FIRE economy in the USA. We are looking at the end of modern civillisation as we know it.

I fail to see how this would lead to the end of modern civilization. And if modern civilization is based upon lies, perhaps it should be allowed to fall so that a post-modern civilization may form.

[tsetsefly]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

They can not let any of the larger commercial banks go bankrupt at this time. And it is not only the banks in the USA which are teetering on the edge. There are several global institutions that are so interconnected if one fails they all fail and the entire global banking system will collpase resulting in anarchy and total chaos.
What is alarming is that the powers that be allowed Lehman Brothers to go under. They severly underestimated the fragility of the global markets.
Once they were allowed a peek into the dark chorridors of the global frakenstein named AIG they finally became aware of how real the threat is. We are not looking at the failure and collapse of the FIRE economy in the USA. We are looking at the end of modern civillisation as we know it.

If people were truly aware of how grave the situation is they would not be so critical of the governments reactions thus far. They would be instead calling out for a larger injection of capital for the major banks and insurance companys and praising the idea of moving the debts into a "bad bank" and concentrating on saving whats left. We can fix the system later.

except the injections of capital WILL NOT WORK and will make it worse with inflation.
The 20th century saw two wars that completely leveled Europe, and civilization survived, even if we had the same type of financial ruin that Europe saw, we will still get out of it, in SPITE of government, not with there help...

[roxtar]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

only with much more unpleasant long-term consequences

In their minds the long term consequences don't count because the most of the people that are going to have to deal with them haven't been born yet.

[D-Mack]

Re: Obama administration seeks fresh approach to crisis

In their minds the long term consequences don't count because the most of the people that are going to have to deal with them haven't been born yet.

We'll see if there will be consequences or if confidence can be restored....:rolleyes:

Obama to Evoke King and Kennedy in Effort to Restore Confidence
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By Kristin Jensen

Jan. 18 (Bloomberg) -- When Barack Obama gives his inaugural address on Jan. 20, he will evoke the inspiration of John F. Kennedy, the dreams of Martin Luther King Jr. and the challenges that faced Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

The nation’s first black president is also expected to pay homage to a predecessor he often cites, Abraham Lincoln. Like Lincoln, Obama rose to prominence largely because of rhetorical skills. And like other American orators in history, Obama is now charged with offering reassurance to a shaken population.

The address has to “restore the confidence of American consumers and investors in their own leadership and country,” said Kennedy’s speechwriter, Ted Sorensen, in an interview. “It’s got to restore the confidence of foreign investors and leaders in this country.”

Obama’s speech is likely to follow the pattern of focusing on grand themes instead of policy proposals. Inaugurals are storied largely because of a few phrases that captured a moment and offered a path forward.

....


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...QDA&refer=home