The government is changing the terms of its bailout agreement with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in a way that will shrink the holdings of the two mortgage giants more quickly and will require payment to the government of all quarterly profits the companies earn.
Nearly 70 top executives at three companies bailed out by the taxpayers during the 2008 financial crisis -- AIG, Ally Financial and GM -- were ordered to take pay 10% cuts by the federal government, and the CEOs had their pay frozen at 2011 levels.
U.S. bond prices fell Wednesday on violence in Libya. An auction of $35 billion in five-year notes met with little demand, while 10-year Treasury prices fell 22 cents per $100 invested. Stocks also declined as a result of the Libyan instability.
The climbing yield on the 10-year Treasury note -- now 3.70%, a nine-month high -- can mean bad things for economic growth and stock prices. But not yet, if market guru Jeffrey Kleintop is right. He says the 10-year Treasury needs to be higher than 5% before it hurts stocks.
General Motors has repurchased $2.1 billion in preferred stock from the federal government, further reducing the amount the automaker owes taxpayers following last year's bailout. The latest transaction cuts the government's stake in the rebounding carmaker to 33% from 61.5%.
Insurance giant American International Group on Wednesday signed an agreement with the government that details its plan to repay its government loans. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that the government plans to sell much of AIG's stock in the next few months.
The U.S. Treasury Department is offering up its remaining Citigroup shares, a move that marks the end of one of the federal government's largest bank bailouts. But the Treasury says it will hold out for an "acceptable price" for the 2.4 billion shares.
White House National Economic Council Deputy Director Diana Farrell and Treasury Department Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Michael Barr are planning to step down in the coming weeks -- the latest in a series of departures from Obama's economic team.
Following General Motors' historic return as a publicly traded company Thursday, President Obama said the U.S. government, despite the many critics, is on track to more than recoup the nearly $50 billion it invested in the Detroit automaker.
Considering where the iconic carmaker has been in recent years, the pending IPO -- and robust investor demand for shares -- is a remarkably positive step. But GM still has plenty of problem spots that will need fixing if this historic event is to have lasting meaning.
ING Investment Management forecasts that stock markets will rise between 8% and 12% in 2011, thanks to a low-inflation, low-interest environment supported by the Fed, despite weak GDP growth. And for those looking for to increase their investment yields, they have a few suggestions.
GM reportedly plans to raise the price range on its pending initial public of stock to as much as $33 a share. The increase to $31 to $33 a share from the initial $26 to $29 a share is being prompted by strong demand for the stock.
The Federal Reserve bought $7.3 billion worth of U.S. Treasuries Friday as it started a second round of quantitative easing meant to stimulate the nation's economy, media reports indicate. The QE2 plan, designed to boost job creation and prevent deflation, has been highly criticized.
