Federal Reserve
FOMC holds rates as spectre of quantitative easing looms
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has kept its target for US interest rates at between 0-25 basis points as the Federal Reserve reiterated its commitment to use new tools to fight the worsening economic downturn.
US props up Bank of America
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GAO report calls for US regulatory reformation
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Fed offers $150 billion to banks via TAF
The Federal Reserve announced it would offer $150 billion in 28-day discount-rate loans via its term auction facility (TAF) today; the auction will settle on January 15.
Fed expands MMIFF
The Federal Reserve has expanded its Money Market Investor Funding Facility (MMIFF) to include a wider range of money-market investors.
Fed agency MBS purchases to begin within days
The US Federal Reserve will start buying mortgage-backed securities (MBS) issued by Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and Ginnie Mae within the next few days, fulfilling a promise it made in November.
Fed's near-zero target startles markets
Yesterday's news that the US Federal Reserve would cut its target fund rate to between zero and 0.25% rallied US stocks and sent Treasury bill yields to new lows.
FED warns US consumers about loan scam
Losses and Lawsuits
Paulson: buying MBSs no longer Tarp priority
Treasury secretary Hank Paulson closed the door to systematic US government purchases of illiquid mortgage-backed securities under its $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Programme (Tarp), during a briefing in Washington, DC today.
Treasury and Fed help AIG lay-off CDO risk
AIG was shored up by a restructuring plan hammered out by the US Treasury and Federal Reserve Bank of New York today, which involved the creation of an off-balance-sheet vehicle to neutralise some of the insurer’s hefty collateralised debt obligation …
Fed to lend additional $37.8 billion to AIG
The US Federal Reserve has stepped in again to help troubled insurance company American International Group (AIG), authorising the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to borrow up to $37.8 billion in investment-grade fixed income securities from AIG in…
Fed to treble lending
The Federal Reserve increased its Term Auction Facility (TAF) auctions by $300 billion on Monday, and expects its lending to reach $900 billion by November; three times the amount of liquidity provision given to date.
US Fed bails out AIG with $85bn
Losses & Lawsuits
Remaining investment firms become Fed-regulated banks
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Central banks reveal co-ordinated response to liquidity crisis
The world's major central banks today unveiled plans for a $180 billion injection of liquidity to restore stability to global financial markets.
Fed props up AIG with $85 billion loan
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US government takes control of AIG
The US Federal Reserve Board has agreed to lend struggling insurance company American International Group (AIG) up to $85 billion, in return for a 79.9% equity stake in the firm.
Fed asks Treasury for supplementary funding
The US Treasury department is creating a temporary supplementary funding programme at the request of the Federal Reserve. The initiative has been devised to manage the balance-sheet impact of the Fed’s lending and liquidity operations, and ensure it can…
Bank of America buys Merrill Lynch for $50 billion
Bank of America announced today it will acquire Merrill Lynch in a $50 billion all-stock deal, rounding off an explosive weekend on Wall Street.
Foreign banks face $475 billion subprime losses
Although banks such as UBS have reported massive subprime-related writedowns in the early stages of the mortgage crisis, European banks are not over-represented in the subprime market, according to research published by the US Federal Reserve.
US Fed issues standardised approaches NPR
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