The Treasury Department has asked Congress for permission to spend $700 billion buying up unloved mortgage securities. Add that to $200 billion pledged to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that $85 billion loan to AIG, and $29 billion in Bear Stearns junk still stuck on the Federal Reserve’s books, and you get a price tag [...]
Ethan Harris, the chief U.S. economist at bankrupt Lehman Brothers, says it’s been “the most tumultuous two weeks of my personal and professional life.” Even on Friday, with the tumult settled somewhat by Barclays’ purchase of Lehman’s core business and Hank Paulson’s plans to purchase the American financial system, things were still kind of weird: [...]
