Barclays Faces Trans-Atlantic Scrutiny
Along with an inquiry in London, some of the biggest financial institutions in England are now coming under scrutiny from Washington. Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, told the US Senate that he could not guarantee that libor rates were no longer being manipulated. Al Jazeera's Barnaby Phillips reports from London.

Timothy Geithner Pressed Mervyn King to Reform Libor in 2008

THE GUARDIAN: Bank of England releases memo from senior US official calling on governor to improve integrity of Libor setting

Sir Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, has been put at the centre of the Libor-rigging scandal after a senior US official called on him to reform the interest rate market in 2008.

Timothy Geithner, who was then the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, called for six changes he said would improve the integrity of Libor, the London interbank offered rate which is used around the world to set the rate of borrowing for many households and companies.

Geithner, who is now the US treasury secretary, sent his memo in June 2008. The memo, published by the Bank of England on Friday (pdf), shows that the recommendations made by Geithner came before October 2008 when Barclays was found to have lowered its Libor submissions to ensure there was no suggestion that it was in financial difficulty during the banking crisis.

The Bank appeared to pin the blame on the British Bankers' Association, which compiles Libor. The Bank said on Friday that a review of Libor was launched by the BBA in June 2008 in the light of "concerns about difficulties in setting Libor in the stressed market conditions of late 2007 and 2008". The governor endorsed Geithner's recommendations. » | Jill Treanor, City Editor | Friday, July 13, 2012

US Federal Reserve to Keep Interest Rates Near Zero until 2014

THE GUARDIAN: Federal Reserve Bank's pessimism indicates the economy may not fully recover from the recession for another two years

The US Federal Reserve expects to keep short-term interest rates close to zero "at least through late 2014" – longer than previously indicated – chairman Ben Bernanke said as he expressed concerns about the pace of the recovery.

The decision means the Fed fears the economy will not fully recover from the recession that started in 2008 for at least another two years. "I don't think we're ready to declare that we've entered a new, stronger phase at this point. We'll continue to look at the data," Bernanke said at a press conference.

The Fed's pessimism contrasts with Barack Obama's positive message about the economy in his state of the union speech on Tuesday night, and underlines the scale of the challenge he faces to convince American voters to give him a second term.

"While indicators point to some further improvement in overall labour market conditions, the unemployment rate remains elevated," the Fed said in a statement released after a two-day meeting. "Household spending has continued to advance, but growth in business fixed investment has slowed, and the housing sector remains depressed."

For the first time the Fed released a quarterly economic forecast, detailing committee members' thoughts about how long they believe the Fed should retain its three-year-old policy of holding short-term interest rates near zero. » | Dominic Rushe | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

THE GUARDIAN: Tim Geithner: Obama will not select me to run Treasury again: Treasury secretary predicts president will be re-elected in November – but doubts he'll be offered the Treasury job again » | Dominic Rushe | Wednesday, January 25, 2012

U.S. Treasury Chief Geithner Urges G-20 Leaders to Continue Government Spending
LOS ANGELES TIMES: The Treasury secretary, speaking at the summit in Toronto, says the global recovery remains fragile and that ill-timed austerity measures could derail gains. Obama meets privately with other leaders.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner holds a news conference during the G-20 summit in Toronto. Photograph: Los Angeles Times
Reporting from Toronto — They smiled for photos and announced agreement on everything from nuclear containment to development efforts in Africa on Saturday, but world leaders gathered in Toronto have a tougher challenge as they get down to brass tacks on the best way to keep the global economic recovery from stalling.

Going into Sunday's meetings with the Group of 20 industrialized and emerging nations, the Obama administration was pressing leaders to stay the course they set more than a year ago to promote growth through government investment in the economy.

Spooked by economic meltdowns in Greece and elsewhere on their continent, European leaders came to those talks concerned about racking up a damaging level of debt. Their proposal of a punitive global tax on banks to fund future bailouts was meeting opposition from other nations but remained under consideration late Saturday.

But U.S. and Canadian leaders predicted that a common purpose would emerge before the G-20 summit ends Sunday, one representing a balance between economic stimulus and plans for deficit reduction.

"We have to find the right balance, and that balance is going to differ across countries," Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said. "But I think you're going to see a strong commitment again by these major economies to do what is necessary to make sure that we are supporting recovery and getting that balance right." >>> Christi Parsons, Los Angeles Times | Sunday, June 27, 2010

Geithner Says Recession Easing, U.S. on the Mend
REUTERS: JEDDAH - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Tuesday aggressive efforts to counter a global financial crisis were starting to work and acknowledged the United States had a special duty to help spur a recovery.

"Given the dollar's role in the international financial system and the significant impact of the U.S. economy on global economic conditions, we fully recognize that the United States has a special responsibility to play," he said in prepared remarks for delivery to the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce.

Geithner, who arrived in Saudi Arabia overnight from London, is aiming to reassure Gulf Arab states that the United States wants their investments and that their U.S. dollar assets are safe. He travels to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday and will also make a stop in Paris Thursday.

As he did in London, Geithner said the global economy faced severe challenges but sounded a reassuring note about future prospects if "steady, forceful and sustained" support continues until private investment and spending lead a recovery.

"The force of the global recession is receding," Geithner said. "For the first time in several quarters, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) and a range of private analysts are starting to revise up their forecasts for growth in the second half of this year and next." >>> Glenn Somerville | Tuesday, July 14, 2009

US-Finanzminister Geithner will ein enges Korsett für Finanzsystem
TAGES ANZEIGER: US-Finanzminister Timothy Geithner und Notenbankchef Ben Bernanke wollen eine Neuordnung der Finanzmarktregulierung durchsetzen. Lücken in der Kontrolle von Finanzriesen [sic] müssten geschlossen werden.

Stärkere Überwachung der US-Finanzriesen: Ben Bernanke (Notenbankchef) und Timothy Geithner (Finanzminister). Bild dank dem Tages Anzeiger
«Alle Institutionen und Märkte, die ein Systemrisiko darstellen könnten, werden einer strengen Überwachung unterliegen, einschliesslich einer Begrenzung ihrer Risiken», sagte Finanzminister Timothy Geithner in Washington bei einer Befragung durch den Bankenausschuss des US-Repräsentantenhauses.

Es müsse verhindert werden, dass der Staat wieder mit einer Situation wie im vergangenen September konfrontiert sei, als der vor der Pleite stehende Versicherer AIG durch Eingreifen der Regierung gerettet werden musste. Notenbankchef Ben Bernanke sagte in der Sitzung, es bestehe ein «dringender Bedarf», neue Verfahrensweisen für die Kontrolle «systemrelevanter, wichtiger Finanzunternehmen» aufzustellen. >>> vin/sda/ap | Dienstag, 24. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch und Gebundene Ausgabe) – Versandkostenfrei innerhalb der Schweiz >>>

Er kann die Wallstreet nicht beruhigen
TAGES ANZEIGER: Vom Auftreten her ein Diplomat, von der Arbeitsweise her ein Technokrat: US-Finanzminister Geithner hat Mühe, sich als Krisenmanager durchzusetzen.

Was immer der 54-jährige Timothy Geithner zu erklären versucht: Stets wirkt er besorgt und an sich selbst zweifelnd. Diese Eigenheit, die seine Freunde seit seiner Jugend kennen, macht ihm heute – mitten in der gröbsten Finanzkrise seit 80 Jahren – die Arbeit schwer. Nur sechs Wochen nach Amtsantritt ist der Finanzminister bereits umstritten. Kritiker von links und rechts sehen ihn gar als Fehlbesetzung, nicht zuletzt, weil er im Netz der Old Boys an Wallstreet hängen geblieben scheint.

«Das Problem von Tim ist nicht, dass er die Schwere einer Krise nicht erfasst oder nicht stets die beste Lösung will», sagt eine Vertraute, die ihn seit der Hochschule am Dartmouth College gut kennt. «Seine Schwierigkeit war und ist, dass er besorgt erscheint, auch wenn er es gar nicht ist und lieber grübelt als sich öffentlich zu erklären.» Geithner ist in seinem Habitus viel mehr Vermittler als ein harter, schnell entscheidender Krisenmanager. >>> Von Walter Niederberger, San Francisco | Donnerstag, 12. März 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Taschenbuch und Gebundene Ausgabe) – Versandkostenfrei innerhalb der Schweiz >>>