What's left to fix housing market?

2010-03-21T12:15:17Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States has thrown trillions of dollars at the slumping housing market and it still looks wobbly.</p><p>The government seized the two biggest mortgage finance companies and offered as much as $8,000 in tax breaks to entice home buyers, while the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made a fresh pitch Saturday to retain oversight of small banks, contending that what the Fed learns from that role helps it assess the overall health of the entire U.S. financial system.</p><p>Bernanke, in a speech to the

2010-03-20T07:15:17Z

<div><p>Orlando, Florida (Reuters) - Regulators must be "significantly tougher" on large and complex financial firms to limit wider risks, but big firms are still needed to keep the global economy humming, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Saturday.</p><p>Bernanke told an

Obama urges senators to support financial reform

2010-03-20T06:15:13Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged senators on Saturday to resist pressure to weaken a financial reform bill and called again for an independent consumer watchdog to help prevent future financial crises.</p><p>As healthcare reform reaches a make-or-break vote in the FDIC chairman says loopholes must be filled in Senate overhaul bill to end 'too-big-to-fail'</div><div><p>A key senator has agreed with the head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. to change new Senate legislation to ensure an end to the "too-big-to-fail" approach that brought the government rushing in to bail out big banks in the financial crisi...

Fed must reveal data on loans to firms, court says

2010-03-19T16:00:18Z

<div id="subtitle">NY appeals court: Fed must reveal documents identifying firms that received Fed loans</div><div><p>The Federal Reserve must reveal documents identifying financial companies that received Fed loans to survive the financial crisis, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.</p><p>A panel of the 2nd U.S. Circu...

Court orders Fed to release bailout documents

2010-03-19T14:45:28Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - In a significant victory for news media, a federal appeals court said the Federal Reserve must disclose records on emergency lending programs to banks bailed out by the government in the financial crisis.</p><p>The Second Circuit Court of ...

Appeals court rules bank loans can be disclosed

2010-03-19T14:30:44Z

<div id="subtitle">NY appeals court: Federal Reserve should reveal records about loans to private banks</div><div><p>The Federal Reserve must reveal documents identifying financial companies that received Fed loans to survive the financial crisis, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.</p><p>A panel of the 2nd U.S. Circui...

Frank: Still favors independent financial watchdog

2010-03-19T13:00:18Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Barney Frank, the Democratic chairman of a key House committee, said on Friday in a CNBC interview that he still favors establishing an independent agency on protecting financ...

Senate to remove "backdoor bailouts" from bill

2010-03-19T09:30:18Z

<div><p>ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Banking Committee will remove a provision from the financial reform bill that bank regulator Sheila Bair said cou...

Lawmaker seeks records on Fed Board stock ownership

2010-03-19T08:00:57Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the House of Representatives' Oversight Committee said on Friday he had asked the Federal Reserve to provide all documents relating to a rule waiver that allowed then-New York Fed Board...

Time to end gouging

2010-03-19T02:17:38Z

<div id="subtitle">Federal Reserve Board should give consumers option to avoid costly overdraft fees</div><div><p> One of the banking industryÕs dirty little secrets is the massive amount of money it makes each year in fees from customers who have overdrawn their accounts. The Center for Responsible Lending, a ...

Stockhouse @ the Bell: Blue chips lead stocks higher…again

2010-03-18T19:15:12Z

<div id="subtitle">The Dow was higher for the seventh consecutive session for the first time since August. On Bay Street, energy issues helped counter weak gold and bank stocks.</div><div><p>Today on Stockhouse </p><p>Your opinion matters. Submit an article to Stockhouse today at submissions@stockhouse.com. Submission guidelines can be found here. </p><p>Martin Hutchinson lists some of the many ...

Summary Box: Consumer prices flat in February

2010-03-18T15:46:02Z

<div id="subtitle">Summary Box: Consumer prices flat in January as weak economy keeps inflation in check</div><div><p>COST OF LIVING FLAT: The price of clothing, shelter and other goods was unchanged last month, the government said, as a drop in energy prices offset a rise in food costs.</p><p>NO INFLATION: The report shows that the weak economy is keeping a lid on inflation. That enables the ...

Fed's emergency loans decline in past week

2010-03-18T15:01:29Z

<div id="subtitle">Banks reduce their borrowing by average of $2.24 billion from Fed's emergency loan program</div><div><p>Banks borrowed less from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program over the past week in a further sign that the strains from the financial crisis are fading.</p><p>The Fed reported Thursday that daily borrowing from its emergency loan program averaged $11.49 bil...

Data points to modest recovery, muted inflation

2010-03-18T14:00:18Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Labor market and consumer prices data on Thursday showed the U.S. economy is on a moderate growth path and inflation pressures are contained, backing up the Federal Reserve's vow to keep benchmark interest rates ultra-low for some time.</p><p>Initia...

Greenspan says Fed did not fuel the housing bubble

2010-03-18T10:15:58Z

<div><p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, whose legacy has been tarnished by the global financial crisis, on Thursday laid out a scholarly defense of why Fed policy did not fuel the housing bubble.</p><p>Greenspan did offer somewhat of a mea c...

European equities stumble on profit-taking

2010-03-18T09:16:30Z

<div><p>Europe's main stock markets stumbled on Thursday as investors took profits and digested economic data including a larger-than-expected eurozone trade deficit, dealers said.</p><p>In late morning European trade, London's benchmark FTSE 100 index gaine...

Mortgage rates still below 5 percent

2010-03-18T08:31:20Z

<div id="subtitle">Rates on 30-year mortgages edge up, but remain below 5 percent as Fed prepares exit</div><div><p>Mortgage rates held below the 5 percent threshold for the third straight week as the Federal Reserve prepares to end a program that has kept rates at or near record lows.</p><p>The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage edged up to 4.96 percent this week from 4.95 perc...

February consumer prices flat on lower energy costs

2010-03-18T08:15:47Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer prices were unexpectedly unchanged in February as a drop in energy costs was offset by higher food and medical care costs, a government report showed on Thursday, backing up the Federal Reserve's commitment to ultra low interest rates.</p><p>The Labor Department said its seasonally adjusted

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