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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- A small group of House Republicans urged the Treasury and Federal Reserve against bailing out any more companies on Thursday, saying the government is putting taxpayers on the hook for too much money. "Enough is enough. It is time to bail out the American taxpayer from bailout mania," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas. Hensarling and others said consumers and companies need tax cuts to help them amid one of the worst financial crises in U.S. history.

Today, the Bank of Canada, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank (ECB), the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank are announcing coordinated measures designed to address the continued elevated pressures in US dollar short-term funding markets. These measures, together with other actions taken in the last few days by individual central banks, are designed to improve the liquidity conditions in global financial markets. The central banks will continue to work together closely and will take appropriate steps to address the ongoing pressures. Bank of England action The Bank of England will offer...

The U.S. Treasury is struggling with how to handle any political or Islamic ramifications as Persian Gulf sovereign wealth funds look to make substantial investments in capital-poor American banks and securities firms. The crisis in mortgage-backed securities has created a need for new capital to enter financial markets after major financial institutions such as Bear Stearns and Carlyle Capital Corp. failed over the weekend. The crisis is an opportunity for sovereign wealth funds that have prospered as the price of oil has soared over $110 a barrel. WND previously reported sovereign wealth funds in six Persian Gulf countries, including Kuwait,...

"The US Treasury presented a series of options for possible reforms to the US business tax system today, but did not recommend any specific policy changes," reports Thompson Financial. "'The current US system is far from optimal,' Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy Eric Solomon said, 'and we cannot afford to be left behind' as one country after another modernizes its business taxes to improve global competitiveness.'" In "Is the U.S. Corporate Tax in the Laffer Zone?" Chris Edwards, Cato's director of tax policy studies, writes: "The direction of tax reforms around the world is clear, and it is time for...

October 25, 2007 HP-644Fact Sheet: Designation of Iranian Entities and Individuals for Proliferation Activities and Support for TerrorismThe U.S. Government is taking several major actions today to counter Iran's bid for nuclear capabilities and support for terrorism by exposing Iranian banks, companies and individuals that have been involved in these dangerous activities and by cutting them off from the U.S. financial system.Today, the Department of State designated under Executive Order 13382 two key Iranian entities of proliferation concern: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL). Additionally, the Department of the Treasury...

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy told senators Wednesday that Congress has neglected judicial pay, harming morale among judges and threatening to undermine judicial independence. The current salary level for judges "is insufficient to attract the finest members" of the legal profession to accept appointments to the bench, Kennedy said during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Kennedy picked up on an issue that Chief Justice John Roberts recently called a "constitutional crisis."

Iran's largest bank blacklisted From correspondents in Washington September 09, 2006 THE US Treasury Department announced overnight that it had blacklisted one of Iran's largest banks, Bank Saderat, from having any links with US-owned banks. The move effectively cuts Iran's state-owned Bank Saderat off from conducting any business linked to the US financial system. The Treasury Department said it blacklisted Saderat because of its "support for terrorism." "Bank Saderat facilitates Iran's transfer of hundreds of millions of dollars to Hezbollah and other terrorist organisations each year," said Stuart Levey, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. "We will no longer allow...

In case anyone cares about such harsh realities. Total Debt on 09/28/2001: $5,807,463,412,200.06

The U.S. Commitment to Uruguay and Latin America John B. Taylor Under Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs Remarks at Embassy of Uruguay on Receipt of the “Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay” Washington, DC February 14, 2005 Thank you very much for inviting me here today and for this honor. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to work with Ambassador Fernández-Faingold, Minister Alfie, and other members of the Uruguayan government to help Uruguay through the difficult period in 2002. President Batlle and his economic team deserve high marks for their achievements in putting Uruguay back on...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. industrial output grew strongly last month while producer prices fell at the sharpest rate in 1-1/2 years amid tumbling energy prices, according to reports suggesting healthy, noninflationary growth. U.S. factories, mines and utilities boosted production by a more-than-expected 0.8 percent in December, leading to a 4.1 percent gain for all of 2004, the best annual showing in four years, a Federal Reserve report showed on Friday. Separately, the Labor Department said producer prices dropped 0.7 percent last month, a sharper-than-expected decline and the biggest since April 2003. Prices were also well contained when excluding volatile food...

Have you checked the value of your stocks or your real estate lately? In euros? Or British pounds? Has it all sadly disappeared seemingly while you were sleeping? Looking at the dire prognostications of currency analysts on television or in the newspapers lately would lead one to believe that all of your assets are evaporating like raindrops on a Phoenix sidewalk in August. Given the depth of the dread, I’m surprised that some of the Wall Street brokerage firms haven’t taken advantage of all this gloom by selling a currency-hedging strategy to consumers that would prevent the disappearance of home...

Reuters Snow: G20 Finance Chiefs Upbeat on Growth Sunday October 26, 10:41 pm ET MORELIA, Mexico (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on Sunday that finance chiefs from rich and poor countries saw global growth prospects picking up but also shared concern about threatening imbalances. Speaking to reporters after the first day of a two-day Group of 20 meeting in Mexico, Snow described the mood among finance ministers and central bankers as "upbeat, positive" but with some concerns. "In every single case the tenor of the comments was that the world economy is on a pretty good course,"...

US strikes colourful note with new greenback By Jenny Wiggins in New York Published: June 21 2002 0:25 | Last Updated: June 21 2002 0:25 The end of the greenback could be nigh. The US government on Thursday announced plans to introduce other colours on dollar bills to help tourists tell the different notes apart. "International visitors complain 'We can't tell your denominations apart,'" said the Bureau of Engraving and Printing which will release new versions of the $20, $50 and $100 bills next year. US notes are all the same colour and size, which makes them hard to distinguish...