Barclays Chief Bob Diamond Could Be Brought Before Congress, Sources Say

THE GUARDIAN: Washington politicians considering asking former Barclays chief executive to testify as Libor-fixing controversy crosses to US

US politicians are considering summoning Barclays' former boss Bob Diamond to Washington to answer questions about the Libor-fixing scandal, in a sign that the controversy is becoming an ever hotter issue in the US.

Two high[-]powered committees, the Senate Banking committee and the House Financial Services committee, are both believed to be considering calling Diamond to testify. The committees declined to comment, but sources close to them said they were in the early stages of gathering information and were almost certain to call the former Barclays chief executive after the summer recess. A spokesman for Bob Diamond declined to comment.

Senator Tim Johnson, chairman of the banking committee, said on Tuesday that his panel would quiz Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner on the scandal at hearings scheduled before the August break.

"I am concerned by the growing allegations of potential widespread manipulation of Libor and similar interbank rates by some financial firms," said Johnson.

The US justice department is already investigating the scandal, and several cities and state pension funds have launched legal action, claiming that their investments suffered as a result of the manipulation of Libor rates. » | Dominic Rushe in New York and Jill Treanor | Wednesday, July 11, 2012

BP's Tony Hayward Savaged by US Congressmen Over Oil Spill
THE TELEGRAPH: BP’s chief executive Tony Hayward has been subjected to a blistering attack by US Congressmen over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, who accused the company of “astonishing complacency”.

BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward was singled out for failing to ignore warnings signs before the fatal rig explosion. Photograph: The Telegraph
The boss of the oil giant was appearing before an influential committee a day after pledging a £13.5bn compensation fund to make amends for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

Britain’s largest firm was condemned for increasing the risk of a “catastrophic blowout” by cutting “corner after corner”. It was accused of having a “cavalier attitude towards risk”.

Mr Hayward was singled out for failing to ignore warnings signs before the fatal rig explosion, which left 11 people dead and hundreds of thousands of barrels of oils spewing into the Gulf. BP has failed to contain the leak despite numerous attempts.

Henry Waxman, a California Democrat known as one of the toughest investigators in Congress, told Mr Hayward: “There is not a single email or document that shows that you paid even the slightest attention to the dangers at this well.

“There is a complete contradiction between BP’s words and deeds. You were brought in to make safety the top priority of BP, but under your leadership, BP has taken the most extreme risks.”

In a pointedly nationalist remark, Bart Stupak, from Michigan, said that while Mr Hayward could take “a golden parachute back to England, we in America are left to recover for years from the disaster”. >>> Alex Spillius, in Washington | Thursday, June 17, 2010

It really is difficult to see how Tony Hayward can remain in his position as BP’s chief executive. The buck stops with him. If the man had any honour, he’d resign; and without the golden parachute that these people have come to expect in recent years. The company, BP, has fouled up under his watch. The consequences should be faced. – © Mark

Barack Obama Requests $50 Billion in Emergency Funding from Congress
THE SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Barack Obama has sought to shore up the US economy with a request for $50 billion (£34 billion) in emergency funding from Congress to save the jobs of "hundreds of thousands" of teachers, firemen and policemen.

He said the aid, which also included measures to help small businesses, was essential to ensure that the country did not "slide backwards just as our recovery is taking hold".

"It is essential that we continue to explore additional measures to spur job creation and build momentum toward recovery, even as we establish a path to long-term fiscal discipline," Mr Obama wrote in a letter sent to party leaders in Congress.

Pointing out that 84,000 public sector jobs had been lost so far this year, he said keeping people employed in the short term would cost less than their unemployment.

The demand to inject further government spending into the economy puts America on the opposite course to its major trading partners in the developed world. Britain, Germany, Japan, France and Italy have all announced cuts after boosting spending to counter the recession in recent years.

Mr Obama is also likely to encounter stiff domestic opposition. Republicans immediately criticised the president for seeking to spend more money when the national debt has risen to £9.6 trillion.

John Boehner, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, said spending more public money without offsetting the costs was irresponsible.

"The spending spree in Washington continues unabated, though the American people are screaming at the top of their lungs: 'Stop'." >>> Alex Spillius in Washington | Sunday, June 13, 2010

Obamonomics©: A Definition >>>

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Congress Blocks Indiscriminate IMF Aid for Europe
TELEGRAPH BLOG – AMBROSE EVANS-PRITCHARD: Europe may have to clean up its own mess after all. The US Senate has voted 94:0 to block use of taxpayers’ money for IMF rescues that make no economic sense or bail-outs for countries like Greece that far are beyond the point of no return.

“This amendment will help prevent American taxpayer dollars from underwriting dysfunctional governments abroad,” said Texas Senator John Cornyn, the chief sponsor. “American taxpayers have seen more bailouts than they can stomach, and the last thing they should have to worry about are their hard-earned tax dollars being used to rescue a foreign government. Greece is not by any stretch of the imagination too big to fail.”

Co-sponsor David Vitter from Louisiana said America had run out of money. “Our country already owes trillions of dollars in debt. We simply can’t afford to take on other countries’ debt in addition to our own.” Read on and comment >>> Ambrose Evans-Pritchard | Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Congress Approves $700bn Bail-out Plan on Second Try
THE NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — The House of Representatives gave final approval on Friday to the $700 billion bailout for the financial system, reversing course to authorize what may be the most expensive government intervention in history.

At 1:21 p.m., applause and cheers echoed through the House chamber as the number of “aye” votes crossed the threshold needed for passage with just seconds remaining in the official 15-minute voting period. The vote was 263 to 171.

And in a sign of the urgency surrounding the rescue plan, Congressional staff rushed the newly printed legislation into a news conference where Democratic leaders gathered after the vote and Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Democrat of California, signed it, at exactly 2 p.m.

Earlier, Ms. Pelosi said the measure was essential to “begin to shape the financial stability of our country and the economic security of our people.”

Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the Republican minority leader, had urged passage by warning that “if we do nothing, this crisis is likely to worsen and to put us into an economic slump like most of us have never seen.” House Approves Bailout on Second Try >>> By David M Herszenhorn | October 3, 2008

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