WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration, seeking to improve public perception of the $700 billion financial rescue, is expected to announce this week tougher executive-compensation restrictions for some firms that get government aid.
Officials also are considering splitting off the Troubled Asset Relief Program from the Treasury and creating an independent entity, according to government officials. Some within the department think such a move could help improve the perception of the bailout, which has come under heavy criticism for being too secretive and not imposing enough rules and conditions on banks that get government aid.
I'm going to view all this as positive. In one of his interviews yesterday, Obama clearly promised that he would get all the pork (I think he used the word earmarks) out of whatever stimulus bill was passed. That would be nice.
I like the idea of moving the TARP assets into a separate entity. That way as institutions do pay back the money they owe, and some or most of them will, it will be crystal clear where it came from and hopefully go straight toward paying down debt. If you're Goldman Sachs, and the preferred stock dividend is scheduled to go from 5% to 9% at the same time that every bonus check and stock grant is getting the beatdown, paying the TARP funds back will be job one.
****
Futures are down sharply again today. This market needs Punxsutawney Phil to go on CNBC and call a bottom for this market. I'm calling an end to winter so we on the East Coast don't need him for that.
No comments:
Post a Comment