Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and former Treasury Secretary (and current White House adviser) Larry Summers expressed confidence in the economy, offering soundbites like "There is a momentum building up which is really just the beginning, and it’s got a way to go" (from Greenspan) and "Now the process of job creation has started, we expect it will accelerate" (from Summers) on ABC's This Week. Greenspan also said that the chances that the economy will retrench "have fallen very significantly in the last two months."
Greenspan, Summers Are Optimistic About Economy
Greenspan: Fed, Regulators "Failed"
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said at the Brookings Insitute today, "Even with the breakdown of private risk-management, the financial system would have held together had the second bulwark against crisis -- our regulatory system -- functioned effectively. But, under crisis pressure, it too failed." Bloomberg News says that Greenspan "said low interest rates weren’t to blame for inflating the bubble, placing the blame instead on regulators," "Even though for years our largest 10 to 15 banking institutions have had permanently assigned on-site examiners to oversee daily operations, many of these banks still were able to take on toxic assets that brought them to their knees."
Alan Greenspan Expects Growth AND 10+% Unemployment
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gave his predictions on the economy and unemployment: He thinks the economy will grow 3% in the third quarter (which is more than he previously thought)—and that unemployment will break through 10% and be there for a while.
Greenspan Admits He Was Wrong About Regulation
Former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said today that he was wrong to think, as AP puts it, "free markets could regulate themselves without government oversight." Greenspan was testifying in front of the House Committee of Government Oversight, when he declared, "I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interests of organizations, specifically banks and others, were such as that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in the firms," and said his free-market ideology was flawed-- "I don’t know how significant or permanent it is. But I have been very distressed by that fact... I was shocked, because I have been going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well.”
Ford's "Drop Dead" Tactics Actually Helped the City
With the passing of 38th President Gerald Ford, many are examining how a fateful Daily News affected the New York City's economic recovery in the 1970s and Ford's own re-election hopes.
NYC Real Estate 101: Lots of Money for Not Much
Alan Greenspan: Working The Big Brother Angle
When Gothamist is frustrated with the world, we just remind ourselves that all is controlled by Alan Greenspan, the All Knowing and All Powerful Wizard, so we should just go out and have some BBQ and watch some Law & Order.
Enlarged Prostitute, Indeed
From both the "hee-hee" and "ew!" lobes of the brain, Gothamist brings you Lloyd Grove's piece about the mis-captioning on ABC News:

