Update: Bernanke gets Grilled on the Hill…
Update: Ben doing very very well in his testimony, Markets are ecstatic about it, Dow up 148…
Fed Chairman Bernanke under subpoena before Issa and Towns’ House Oversight and Government Reform Panel on BofA/Merrill merger
CNBC Live Stream Here
Ben’s prepared statement:
…Bernanke, in prepared testimony to a House committee investigating the matter, said he did not threaten action against Bank of America’s CEO Kenneth Lewis or the bank’s board members if they decided to abandon the takeover.
“Neither I nor any member of the Federal Reserve ever directed, instructed or advised Bank of America to withhold from public disclosure any information relating to Merrill Lynch, including its losses, compensation packages or bonuses or any other related matter,” the Fed chief said.It marked Bernanke’s first public comments since the House committee launched an investigation earlier this year into whether he or other government officials bullied Bank of America to stick with its plan to combine the two financial powers after Lewis found out about Merrill’s financial woes….
FD-MiM are shareholders…a list of our previous posts here
Market Mover Thursday: Bernanke under subpoena on the Hill, Jobless claims up, Final GDP for 1Q -5.5%…
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., says the Federal Reserve failed to disclose details about its involvement in Bank of America’s controversial acquisition of Merrill Lynch, and today Fed Chairman Bernanke will testify before the House Oversight Committee about the deal. Rep. Issa discusses the allegations with CNBC.
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*FD- MiM are shareholders of BofA (and Merrill now also BofA, lol)
On this week’s jobless claims and GDP revisions (CNBC):
The number of people filing new jobless claims jumped unexpectedly last week, and the total unemployment benefit rolls rose to more than 6.7 million. In related news, the economy tumbled at a 5.5 percent pace in the first quarter, but appears to be doing better now.
The department said initial claims for jobless benefits rose last week by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 627,000. Economists expected a drop to 600,000, according to Thomson Reuters. The number of people continuing to receive unemployment insurance rose by 29,000 to 6.74 million, slightly above analysts’ estimates of 6.7 million. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations, was largely unchanged, at 616,750.
Extended Benefits Unemployment Numbers up also:
Millions of Americans also are receiving jobless benefits through a federal extension enacted by Congress last year. For the week ending June 6, more than 2.4 million people received benefits under the extension, which adds 20 to 33 weeks on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states. About 288,000 people also are receiving benefits under state emergency programs, bringing the total jobless benefit rolls to nearly 8.8 million that week. The extended benefits data lags initial claims by two weeks.
GDP:
…Gross domestic product, which measures total output within U.S. borders, dropped at a 5.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter after shrinking 6.3 percent in the fourth quarter of last year and 0.5 percent in the third quarter. The GDP reading was the final one for the first quarter. The Commerce Department initially said it contracted 6.1 percent, then revised that to 5.7 percent and finally to a 5.5 percent fall. GDP is expected to decline again in the current quarter ending June 30 though less severely than in the first quarter.
The Consumer:
…Consumer spending, which fuels two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, increased at a downwardly revised 1.4 percent rate instead of the 1.5 percent previously estimated….
Moderate in the Middle 