Fed holds off on further help to economy as stronger growth provides breathing room

Πηγή: Washington Post
By AP
Nov 2 2011

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve is holding off on any new actions to help the economy because stronger growth is giving it time to gauge the impact of steps it’s already taken.

Fed policymakers made the announcement after a two-day meeting.

In a statement, the officials said the economy has strengthened and consumers have stepped up spending. But they said the economy continues to face significant downside risks, including strain in global financial markets — a reference to the crisis in Europe.

The Fed left open the possibility of taking further steps later to try to boost the sluggish economy.

The vote was 9-1. Charles Evans, the president of the Chicago Federal Reserve Bank, dissented because he wanted to take stronger action.

US stock futures plunge as Fed prepares for slump

n this Aug. 26, 2011 photo, a trader works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The U.S. Federal Reserve's tacit acknowledgment that America's economic slowdown is likely to persist for quite a while sent global stock markets skidding Thursday, Sept. 22, 2011, as investors brushed off the central bank's efforts to spur growth and focused instead on its gloomy assessment. (AP Photo/Jin Lee)

Πηγή: AP

By FRANCESCA LEVY

Sep. 22 2011

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stock futures plummeted Thursday after the Federal Reserve indicated that the U.S. economic slump could last for years.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Fed announced a portfolio rebalancing designed to drive down interest rates on long-term government debt. The move was largely expected, but stock markets began a late-day slide that carried over to overseas markets on Thursday.

Analysts say the news troubled investors for two reasons: the Fed's statement offered a bleak assessment of the future of the U.S. economy, saying it sees "significant downside risks to the economic outlook" including volatility in overseas markets.

Secondly, the Fed also decided to purchase bonds that matured after 30 years, hoping to push down rates far into the future. That was at the far end of the bank's expected range of Treasury purchases, and some investors think the bank might have maxed out its ability to have much of an impact on growth or interest rates.

The government reported Thursday that fewer people filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week. Still, the number of applications remains high, at 423,000. The U.S. jobs crisis is one of the major economic challenges cited by the Fed.

An hour before the market opening, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 234 points, or 2.1 percent, to 10,773. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 27, or 2.4 percent, to 1,128. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 46, or 2 percent, to 2,199.

FedEx Corp. slipped 0.7 percent in premarket trading after it said that it would earn less in 2012 than it had expected. The company is seen as something of an economic indicator since demand for the global shipper's services tends to line up with how the economy is doing.

The next big round of corporate earnings reports doesn't start for several weeks, but many analysts expect big corporations won't be able to sustain the strong profits they have had for the last few quarters.

Concern that Greece won't be able to avoid defaulting on its debt has also fueled the market's slide. Greeks clogged city traffic and shut down airports to protest the latest round tax hikes and spending cuts that the government is proposing.

Greece must make deep budget cuts to meet targets set by international lenders. The spending goals are a prerequisite for getting an $11 billion installment of the rescue package the country received in 2010. Without the funds, the country will run out of money to pay its bills by next month.

Investors worry that this is another sign Greece won't qualify for bailout funds. A Greek default would have repercussions for larger European economies that are struggling with debt and could tighten lending in the global banking system. Many fear it could set off a chain reaction that would echo the credit crisis of 2008.

On Wednesday, stocks fell sharply in the last 45 minutes of trading. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 283.82 points, or 2.5 percent, and closed at 11,124.84. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 35.33, or 2.9 percent, to 1,166.76 The Nasdaq composite fell 52.05, or 2 percent, to 2,538.19.

Feds tout largest Medicare fraud bust ever

Πηγή: CBS News
September 7, 2011

WASHINGTON - A nationwide law enforcement crackdown has resulted in charges against 91 people — including doctors and other medical professionals — for what authorities described as the largest bust for Medicare fraud in U.S. history, allegedly participating in schemes involving $295 million in false billing.

"At various positions, nurses and physicians violated their professions as well as the public trust," Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters, saying that charges included kickback schemes and money laundering.

"The charges are based on a variety of alleged fraud schemes involving various treatments and services that were not medically necessary - and, oftentimes, were never even provided," said the attorney general.

Holder and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius say charges were filed in Baton Rouge, La.; Brooklyn, N.Y.; Chicago; Dallas; Detroit; Houston; Los Angeles and Miami.

Eleven of the people charged were doctors, three were nurses and 10 were licensed health professionals.

Over half the defendants — 46 — and $160 million of the total in phony claims announced Wednesday came from South Florida, still leading the nation in Medicare fraud.

In Miami, U.S. Attorney Wifredo Ferrer said investigators noticed a new twist in which people who already were receiving Medicare disability checks were recruited with promises they could live in a halfway house in South Florida — as long as they agreed to receive mental health services they did not need. Many were addicted to drugs or alcohol, and some were homeless, and Ferrer said they would be threatened with eviction if they did not participate in the fraud scheme.

"They were already in the system. They were lured in by the promise of having housing. It was, `Come and have a fresh start in Miami,"' Ferrer said.

That particular scheme and other frauds, operated out of an entity called Biscayne Milieu, accounted for $50 million of the fraudulent Medicare claims, prosecutors said. It provided no legitimate services.

"It was a complete fraud," Ferrer said.

In Houston, two people were charged with fraud schemes involving $62 million in false claims for home health care and medical equipment. One defendant allegedly sold beneficiary information to 100 Houston-area home health care agencies. The home agencies used the information to bill Medicare for services that were unnecessary or never provided.

In Baton Rouge, La., a doctor, nurse and five other co-conspirators were charged with billing Medicare more than $19 million for skilled nursing and other home health services that were not necessary or never provided.

The attorney general said that those arrested are jeopardizing the integrity of the nation's health care system. Sebelius called the law enforcement initiative a powerful warning to those who would try to defraud taxpayers and Medicare beneficiaries.

UPDATE 1-FED FOCUS-Poker-faced Fed chief buys time for options

Πηγή: Reuters

By Mark Felsenthal
Sun Aug 28, 2011

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo., Aug 28 (Reuters) - Like a skilled poker player, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke kept some cards close to his vest when facing fellow central bankers in cowboy country.
In doing so, he may have bought himself time to play the strongest hand possible when he is ready.
Bernanke's speech on Friday at an annual Fed conference here came at a time of alarm about a fading U.S. economic recovery and concern about the health of Europe's banks.
Many were looking for a clear signal the central bank is ready to step in with further monetary policy stimulus after Bernanke led the Fed into taking massive stimulus measures over the last few years.
He acknowledged slower-than-hoped-for growth in the world's largest economy and warned that high long-term unemployment could leave lasting scars.
Although he said the Fed would consider what more it could do to boost growth -- comments that helped push up U.S. share prices -- he stopped short of outlining new moves, unlike his Jackson Hole speech last year that was seen as opening the door to a second round of massive bond buying.
"Not much detail," was the curt analysis of Bernanke's speech by a prominent analyst at the exclusive retreat, which brings together an international elite of policymakers, economic thinkers and well-connected financial gurus.

CAREFUL GOING

The Fed is caught between a flagging recovery and persistently high unemployment on one side, and political pressures against more monetary easing on the other. It has already pushed interest rates close to zero and bought $2.3 trillion in bonds to try to lower longer-term borrowing costs.
The Fed is also split internally about what to do next, adding to the challenge faced by Bernanke.
Participants at the conference gave the chairman -- who looked relaxed in faded jeans and a polo shirt -- high marks for deftly maneuvering the fine line between offering hope of monetary relief without overcommitting the central bank.
"The Fed is going to continue to tread slowly," said Barry Eichengreen, an economics professor at the University of California at Berkeley.
The most tantalizing tidbit Bernanke provided was that the Fed's next policy meeting will run for two days instead of one on Sept. 20-21.
A two-day meeting will allow Fed staff to present studies of possible courses of action and will let each of the 17 members of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee air views on policy and where the economy is heading.
The expansion of the meeting underscores the degree to which Bernanke is worried about high unemployment, weak manufacturing data, stock market volatility and strains at European banks.
It also suggests he may see a need to line up support for more action at the Fed, where three policymakers dissented against an early-August decision to let financial markets know the central bank expects to hold interest rates at ultra-low levels through the middle of 2013.
The opportunity for a fuller discussion suggests Bernanke is inclined to loosen monetary policy further but wants more data, such as the August jobs report due on Friday, to buttress his case.
One idea clearly on the agenda is more bond buying matched by a draining of bank reserves to keep the size of the Fed's already bloated balance sheet in check.
This could help pressure longer-term interest rates lower without fueling fears in financial markets the Fed's massive balance sheet might eventually fuel inflation.

HEARTS AND MINDS

By emphasizing the process rather than tools, Bernanke may have been seeking to smooth over the rift exposed by the three who cast "no" votes at the central bank's last policy meeting.
Attendees at the conference here said the risk of future dissent would not deter Bernanke from acting, but that the Fed chairman would seek as much support as possible.
"Anything the Fed does will be more effective in terms of calming the markets and restoring confidence if they are unanimous when they do it," Eichengreen, a panelist at one of the conference sessions, told Reuters Insider.
Detailed analysis by Fed staff economists on the possible benefits of further balance sheet measures may also help a core group of Fed policymakers close to Bernanke, that includes Vice Chair Janet Yellen and New York Fed President William Dudley, overcome skepticism about the effectiveness of new moves.
"They're done and they know it. They've got nothing left," scoffed an analyst attending the conference.
Despite the doubts, discussions on the sidelines of the event made clear some at the Fed believe there is evidence an effort to further flatten longer-term interest rates could help the economy.
One U.S. monetary policy insider was heartened by the recommendation by International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde at the conference that central bankers dive back into unconventional measures to provide additional monetary help.

KUDOS FROM THE CROWD

Bernanke also got high marks for shifting some of the burden for restoring growth to governments and politicians, a theme also emphasized by Lagarde.
While addressing the importance of cutting deficits, politicians should also be sensitive to the fragile recovery and develop a less nerve-wracking process for making budget decisions than the showdown in Congress that brought the United States close to a debt default this summer, he said.
"To me the more interesting part of the chairman's remarks was the shot across the bow of the government saying, 'Don't keep layering expectations on the Federal Reserve guys, you have a job to do,'" Columbia University professor Glenn Hubbard told Reuters Insider.
Bernanke arrived in Wyoming several days early and told attendees he had gone to a rodeo with his family. He jokingly told the conference that seeing that slice of Americana had given him a lot to think about.
He may have decided a little bit of cowboy reticence would suit his Jackson Hole message.

16 TRILLION Reasons Why Everyone In Washington, Including The President, Should Be Heading To Prison

Πηγή: A Time of Choosing
By Gary P Jackson, July 22, 2011 · 4:06 pm

When I first learned of this, late Thursday, I was so angered I couldn’t even put it into words. Even now I’m really doing all I can to measure and moderate my tone. One thing about it, now we know why so many were adamantly opposed to auditing the Fed!

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders [Socialist-VT] reports the first ever top-to-bottom audit of The Fed shows $16 TRILLION in secret “emergency” loans to American and foreign banks and other businesses. All sympathetic to the democrat party.
Last year, the gross domestic product of the entire U.S. economy was only $14.5 trillion!
These secret loans started during President George W Bush’s last year in office, December 2007, but it was all orchestrated by the Fed. In fact, many of the people who work for the Fed also have ties to the banks and corporations who got this money. Still, this doesn’t excuse the democrat controlled Congress, or the Bush administration.
Here’s what Senator Sanders posted on his website:

The first top-to-bottom audit of the Federal Reserve uncovered eye-popping new details about how the U.S. provided a whopping $16 trillion in secret loans to bail out American and foreign banks and businesses during the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. An amendment by Sen. Bernie Sanders to the Wall Street reform law passed one year ago this week directed the Government Accountability Office to conduct the study. “As a result of this audit, we now know that the Federal Reserve provided more than $16 trillion in total financial assistance to some of the largest financial institutions and corporations in the United States and throughout the world,” said Sanders. “This is a clear case of socialism for the rich and rugged, you’re-on-your-own individualism for everyone else.“
Among the investigation’s key findings is that the Fed unilaterally provided trillions of dollars in financial assistance to foreign banks and corporations from South Korea to Scotland, according to the GAO report. “No agency of the United States government should be allowed to bailout a foreign bank or corporation without the direct approval of Congress and the president,” Sanders said.
The non-partisan, investigative arm of Congress also determined that the Fed lacks a comprehensive system to deal with conflicts of interest, despite the serious potential for abuse. In fact, according to the report, the Fed provided conflict of interest waivers to employees and private contractors so they could keep investments in the same financial institutions and corporations that were given emergency loans.
For example, the CEO of JP Morgan Chase served on the New York Fed’s board of directors at the same time that his bank received more than $390 billion in financial assistance from the Fed. Moreover, JP Morgan Chase served as one of the clearing banks for the Fed’s emergency lending programs.
In another disturbing finding, the GAO said that on Sept. 19, 2008, William Dudley, who is now the New York Fed president, was granted a waiver to let him keep investments in AIG and General Electric at the same time AIG and GE were given bailout funds. One reason the Fed did not make Dudley sell his holdings, according to the audit, was that it might have created the appearance of a conflict of interest.
To Sanders, the conclusion is simple. “No one who works for a firm receiving direct financial assistance from the Fed should be allowed to sit on the Fed’s board of directors or be employed by the Fed,” he said.
The investigation also revealed that the Fed outsourced most of its emergency lending programs to private contractors, many of which also were recipients of extremely low-interest and then-secret loans.
The Fed outsourced virtually all of the operations of their emergency lending programs to private contractors like JP Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo. The same firms also received trillions of dollars in Fed loans at near-zero interest rates. Altogether some two-thirds of the contracts that the Fed awarded to manage its emergency lending programs were no-bid contracts. Morgan Stanley was given the largest no-bid contract worth $108.4 million to help manage the Fed bailout of AIG.
A more detailed GAO investigation into potential conflicts of interest at the Fed is due on Oct. 18, but Sanders said one thing already is abundantly clear. “The Federal Reserve must be reformed to serve the needs of working families, not just CEOs on Wall Street.”
To read the GAO report, click here.

This is simply incredible. It’s crony capitalism at it’s worst, and the numbers are so large they are almost incomprehensible. We’re talking about more money than our yearly GDP, trillions more. It’s frightening enough to know our debt is equal to 100% of our GDP, and totally unsustainable, this puts us in a whole other world.
What’s more incredible is there have been numerous reports of bailout money going to foreign banks, a separate situation, and yet, Congress has done nothing.
Astute readers have heard of the Cloward-Piven Strategy. It was developed by a couple of radical, socialist Columbia University professors, Richard Andrew Cloward and Frances Fox Piven. both Cloward and Piven have been big players in the democrat party for decades, and have even been photographed at the White House with President Bill Clinton at official ceremonies.
Cloward-Piven is a strategy to overwhelm the system with debt, demand, and confusion, in order to cause the collapse the entire system of capitalism, and bring about a Marxist state. This is why you see the democrats wanting to add MORE debt, and spend MORE money, at a time we are beyond broke. It’s a deliberate, calculated strategy to destroy America as we know it, and bring about a command-and-control form of government …. Not that we aren’t almost there now!
In September of 2008 James Simpson wrote an great article: Barack Obama and the Strategy of Manufactured Crisis for the American Thinker. Simpson laid out the strategy Obama would use, as well as giving readers a nice history lesson of Cloward-Piven and the art of “manufactured crisis.” It’s a must read if you want to understand where we are at right now, and what is actually going on.
It’s a damned shame our “betters” in the GOP didn’t take time to learn about all of this BEFORE Obama was elected. Had the feckless Republican establishment learned what many of us already knew about Obama, maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess!
Besides the banks, you’ll notice General Electric is involved in all of this. GE’s CEO Jeffery Immelt is attached to Barack Obama at the hip. GE has received all sorts of special treatment, because Immelt has supported Obama so strongly, and is even on many regime advisory committees. He even turned the TV networks the company owns, most notably NBC and MSNBC, into propaganda channels for Obama and the DNC.
It’s crony capitalism. It reminds me of how socialist and communist states operate. The fat cats, as long as they support the regime, are allowed to not only make money, but actually raid the public coffers.
While these $16 TRILLION in secret loans are so over the top it’s almost hard top comprehend, they are no different to the Obama regime’s handouts to the labor unions, and other special interests who have the regime’s back. History tells us that it’s a good bet most of these loans will never be repaid.
It’s quite telling that at a time Obama is threatening to stop sending seniors and the disabled the monthly checks they have EARNED, as well as gutting the military, [while we are in three wars and terrorism is high] that he has plenty of party favors for his buddies.
The Fed is a bad situation all unto itself. That said, there is congressional oversight of the agency. That the agency has been allowed to run wild, while Congress did nothing, is criminal. Every single member of Congress charged with overseeing the agency must be fired. They also must be investigated. We should be filling our prisons with the corrupt bastards who allowed all of this to happen.
It’s quite obvious the Obama regime has purposely enriched it’s friends through all of this corruption.
We’ve never put a United States President in prison. Obama wants to be “historic” I say we need to make a little history. Obama, Fed chair Ben Bernanke, and an entire cast of characters have created a situation that will most certainly cause the Republic to collapse, if something radical isn’t done.
If the United States collapses, the entire world will collapse. Liberty and Freedom will be things we’ll read about in books. [if books aren't outlawed] We’ll all be living in a very dark time.
I have no faith in Congress. Even though Senator Sanders has exposed this massive corruption, you can bet this will be swept under the rug.
We, the people, must rise up and DEMAND satisfaction.
We must DEMAND that any member of Congress charged with keeping an eye on the Fed resign immediately, pending criminal investigation.
We must DEMAND Ben Bernanke resign immediately, pending criminal investigation.
We must DEMAND members of the Fed involved in this scheme resign immediately, pending criminal investigation.
We must DEMAND any bank officer, corporation management, absolutely anyone involved with any company that received these secret loans, and was involved in the process, should be investigated for criminal activity.
We must DEMAND the resignation of Barack Obama, and anyone else connected to this in his regime, pending criminal investigation.
We also MUST DEMAND a our next elected President have a record of successfully going after corruption, even in her own party. [I just happen to have someone in mind]
Never in the history of our nation has corruption been so rampant in government. We need a top to bottom overhaul. We MUST cut spending and get government out of our lives so we can grow jobs and create opportunities.
The only way we’ll even come close to surviving as a nation is to make the U.S. the most business friendly place on earth.
It’s going to take something radical. It’s going to take our government going back to First Principles, back to the Constitutional Republic our founders created. It’s going to take the federal government realizing what they can and cannot, and should not, interfere with. They need to realize most things, constitutionally, are left to the states to sort out and control.
We need new leadership. We need people who understand reality. We need people who understand they work for us, the people. That WE are their employers, their bosses.
We need people who are mindful of how hard it is to earn a living, and how precious those tax dollars that flow into D.C. are. We need people who will treat those dollars with respect, and spend them wisely.
We also need to send a message to the corrupt bastards in Washington now, by sending the guilty to prison [and throwing away the key] and the inept packing!
With all of the insanity we are seeing from Washington, we can no longer sit by and tolerate it. We must take action and we must be successful. The very existence of our Republic depends on us all standing up and being heard.