David R. Sands

Bernanke and Paulson, back on the Hill

UPDATED -- A day after a five-hour grilling by unhappy lawmakers over the proposed $700 billion rescue plan, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. are feeling the heat again.

September 24, 2008

Senate panel OKs nuke pact with India, but time is short

A major new U.S.-India nuclear cooperation deal cleared a key hurdle Tuesday as a Senate panel voted overwhelmingly to approve the agreement.

September 24, 2008

Lawmakers openly skeptical as bailout plan gets hearing

Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson Jr. and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke faced bipartisan skepticism as they pushed for quick congressional approval of the administration's $700 billion Wall Street rescue plan.

September 23, 2008

Wall Street woes ripple across globe

Spain and Taiwan are cracking down on short sellers of stock. Britain's prime minister sees his poll numbers plummet, while Japanese financial giants snap up pieces of distressed U.S. lenders. And some in France and Germany are hailing what they see as a humiliating blow to "Anglo-Saxon" economics.

September 23, 2008

Democrats: Bailout support is costly

Lawmakers are engaged in a $700 billion game of chicken this week over the Bush administration's push to pass an economic bailout proposal for Wall Street.

September 22, 2008

Democrats seek changes to bailout plan

UPDATED -- Sen. Barack Obama and other top Democrats said Sunday their support will come at a price as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson pressed for quick congressional approval of a $700 billion fiscal rescue package.

September 21, 2008

Short sellers defend practice

They've been called the hyenas of high finance, feasting on the misfortunes of others, but the market's short sellers say they are being used as scapegoats as regulators and politicians around the world struggle to prevent a global economic implosion.

September 20, 2008

Congress pushes for last-minute deal with India

Congress and the Bush administration are making a strong last-minute push to approve the far-reaching nuclear cooperation deal with India, a top Senate Democrat said Thursday.

September 19, 2008

Lawmakers say they’re out of the loop

DEVELOPING -- Lawmakers from both parties are complaining they've been kept out of the loop as the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have struggled to contain Wall Street's exploding financial crisis.

September 18, 2008

New financial watchdog considered

The federal agency that managed the bailout of the savings and loan industry in the 1980s and 1990s has emerged as the leading model to contain the fallout from Wall Street's current meltdown.

September 18, 2008

Fidel’s fading but what is next?

For the first time since the Kennedy administration, the next U.S. president won't have Cuban President Fidel Castro to deal with when he takes office in January.

September 16, 2008

Freeze sought on foreclosures after takeover

Four Democrats on the Senate banking committee Thursday called for a temporary freeze on foreclosures for trillions of dollars in home loans held by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, just four days after the Treasury Department ordered a taxpayer-financed takeover of the two mortgage giants.

September 12, 2008

Unity proves divisive for third parties

While the nation's two major political parties bicker over name-calling, a collection of smaller third-parties came together Wednesday in a so-called unity event that, in the end, only produced yet more bickering.

September 11, 2008

Third-party unity bid produces fresh division

While the nation's two major parties bicker over name-calling, a collection of smaller third-parties came together Tuesday in a so-called unity event that, in the end, only produced yet more bickering.

September 10, 2008

Congress: Short session likely partisan

Opening a legislative session likely to be short on bill-passing and long on point-scoring, congressional Republicans and Democrats on Tuesday tried to tag one another as being weak on key national-security issues ahead of November's election.

September 10, 2008

Overseas debt drives bailout of Fannie, Freddie

Foreigners own a big chunk of the debt issued by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, broadening the fallout of any failure beyond U.S. borders and giving the Bush administration one more powerful reason to take over the mortgage giants.

September 9, 2008

12-term Democrat faces tough fight in Pennsylvania

Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski is bucking the national trend this year - not exactly welcome news for his campaign.

September 9, 2008

Democrats tentatively back mortgage bailout

Key Democratic lawmakers cautiously welcomed the Bush administration's takeover plan for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac but made it clear Monday that the move was meant to save the two mortgage giants, not bury them.

September 8, 2008

GOP fares best without lawyers

When the Republican Party formally nominates its presidential and vice-presidential candidates Thursday, it will achieve something the Democrats have managed to do only twice since the two parties began contesting elections in 1856 - keep a lawyer off the ticket.

September 4, 2008

Global prices unfazed by milder Gustav

World oil prices fell Monday as energy traders concluded that Hurricane Gustav is unlikely to pack anything like the one-two punch to the nation's oil and gas infrastructure delivered by Katrina and Rita in 2005.

September 2, 2008