A government audit says the Treasury Department needs tougher controls to oversee the $700 billion financial bailout package.div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?a=LnPBo"img src="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?i=LnPBo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?a=HLAwO"img src="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?i=HLAwO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?a=WOKPo"img src="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?i=WOKPo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?a=Virdo"img src="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?i=Virdo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?a=NrqkO"img src="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?i=NrqkO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?a=yxZnO"img src="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~f/CBSNewsMain?i=yxZnO" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds.cbsnews.com/~r/CBSNewsMain/~4/472915135" height="1" width="1"/

The first official review of the federal government's $700 billion financial rescue plan said Treasury has yet to address "critical" oversight issues to ensure the plan is working.img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/money_latest/~4/vWbQWi8VDR8" height="1" width="1"/

DATELINE TOONTOWN. President-elect Bam Bam has announced a slate of Cabinet appointments, declaring that "this new generation of leadership" will mix a few popular characters from the past along with "many less familiar faces who are getting their first opportunity in a leading role." At a press conference, the President-elect explained that the new appointees were put through a rigorous examination of their public and private lives, and that all were found to have "rock-solid reputations." He praised his new team, calling them "a bedrock for change." The most anticipated announcement of the day was the confirmation of Wilma Rockham Flintstone as his selection for the next Secretary of State. Here's the complete rundown of all the appointments announced over the past week: Secretary of State - Wilma Rockham Flintstone This appointment shows how close the ties between family and party are in Toontown. Bam Bam used to party with the Flintstone's daughter, Pebbles, and his father, Barney Rubble, worked with Wilma's husband, Fred, in the excavation business. Most analysts are wondering what the appointment means for Fred Flintstone. Fred, who first uttered the words "hit the ground running", is still very popular around the world; and he likes the attention. But he has a big mouth. Bam Bam said today that "Wilma Flintstone is an American of tremendous stature" and that he has "complete confidence in her character and judgement." He cited her experience in dealing with domestic affairs, which has prepared her for "her new role in protecting the nation's interests abroad." Treasury Secretary - Richie Rich Rich, who has fallen on hard times lately, beat out Top Cat for the appointment. Reportedly, President-elect Bam Bam never felt comfortable around such a street-smart character. He thought that Rich's recent misfortunes, which have moved him back to the middle-class, might stir sympathy for the plight of the average American. Also, Rich really does need the job. Dept of Homeland Security -- Yosemite Sam With his hot-temper and first-hand knowledge of the southwestern border states, Yosemite Sam promises to bring "straight-talk" to immigration policy in America. He is not expected to duck from any aspect of this tough issue in the media or in Congress. However, many analysts think that because Sam's likely to come out with all his guns a-blazing, he is also a likely candidate for an early exit from the Bam-Bam administration. Attorney General -- Huckleberry Hound With considerable experience as a small-town Sheriff, this homely, homespun character with a Southern drawl is expected to restore the department's reputation as an honest defender of justice. President-elect Bam Bam said that he appreciated Huckleberry Hound's true-blue nature but added: "he is as sly as a dog." Supposedly, Ricochet Rabbit was also under consideration. Secretary of Education -- Mister Peabody The bespectacled inventor of the Wayback Machine, Peabody originated the phrase "no child left behind" during his time-travelling expeditions with young Sherman. Peabody has agreed to re-invent American education for the 21st Century. Many think he is capable of doing this single-handedly, if he's allowed to do so by teachers, parents and bureaucrats. Secretary of Defense -- Baba Looey Longtime deputy secretary to Quick Draw McGraw (aka El Kabong), Looey has been demonstrating his considerable brain-power behind the scenes in Toontown for decades. Now Looey is the first Mexican-born burro to hold a senior-level cabinet post. Unfortunately, the generals are already complaining about having to answer to another person with a funny name. Secretary of Labor -- Hardy Har Har Worked for years under Lippy the Lion and LBJ, Har Har is known to be rather down-in-the-mouth and pessimistic. This made him a good choice for a Labor Department, which must figure out how to put Americans back to work -- no laughing matter, indeed. Secretary of Energy -- vacant. There has been little speculation on the names under consideration for running the Energy Department, although the Drudge Report is saying that Bart Simpson's name has come up more than once. Secretary of Commerce -- Magilla Gorilla Citing years of experience in Mister Peebles' Pet Store, Magilla Gorilla is familiar with the struggles of small-town shopowners, a vanishing breed in an era where people are busily stampeding through Wal-Marts. President-elect Bam Bam is encouraging his new Secretary of Commerce to throw his weight around. Secretary of Veterans Affairs -- General Flap One of the pitifully few African-Americans living in Toontown, Lt. Flap distinguished himself in the war working with Beetle Bailey, starting in 1961, and now he finally receives this overdue promotion to a top job. In a town that worries more about equal representation of cats and dogs, this is progress. Secretary of Transportation -- Motormouse or Penelope Pitstop. One of the few appointments left undecided, the next Secretary of Transportation will either be the quiet but very quick Motormouse or the wealthy heiress, Ms. Pitstop, who has escaped many a predicament in her melodramatic career. Neither is expected to play a major role in the next administration. Secretary of Health and Human Services -- Olive Oyl Known for her good heart but lacking much on-the-job experience, Olive must tackle day-to-day management of a large department that could suffer brutal cutbacks. She is said to be focusing on childhood obesity and she's considering the possibility of banning wimpy burgers. It will also be important that she distance herself from her husband, known for the rap song "I Yam What I Yam" and violent rages induced by his vegetarian diet. Secretary of the Environment -- Chilly Willy or Wally Gator. This one is still a toss-up. The choice is between directing attention to the thawing Artic or the storm-tossed Louisiana swamp. Bam Bam is probably leaning towards Chilly Willy because of growing concern over global warming, along with a secret preference for Klondike bars. Secretary of Agriculture -- Porky Pig This ageless character comes out of retirement for one last spin on the world's stage. He comes from farm country so it will be interesting to see if he can be strong enough to roll back huge f-f-farm s-s-subs-s-s-idies. National Security Advisor -- Johnny Quest After a promising start to his career, Quest has finally achieved the senior-level position that many thought would come much earlier. He not only knows each region's hot spots but he's lived in each of them and found ways to survive on his own. Whether that qualifies him for the politically charged environment of Toontown remains to be seen. Many believe there is a role in national security for veteran Clutch Cargo but lips are sealed on this one. There is also talk that Yakky Doodle will be the next press secretary. Finally, Uncle Scrooge is said to be close to accepting a role as President-elect Bam-Bam's top economic adviser. The sage skinflint, Scrooge is dusting off his own post-war recovery plan, titled "Voodoo Hoodoo", and he's updating it to cope with today's credit crisis. Stay tuned for more news as it happens from Toontown. Thanks to Toonopedia.com for providing background information on all these characters....br style="clear: both;"/ a href="http://www.pheedo.com/click.phdo?s=fdb5eafc9fb7c8e064a92acde30b78b4p=1"img alt="" style="border: 0;" border="0" src="http://www.pheedo.com/img.phdo?s=fdb5eafc9fb7c8e064a92acde30b78b4p=1"//a img src="http://www.pheedo.com/feeds/tracker.php?i=fdb5eafc9fb7c8e064a92acde30b78b4" style="display: none;" border="0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/

There's an elephant in the room every time Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson steps to a podium to recount the serial emergency actions he and other top officials have taken (and, as revealed Monday, will continue to take) to prop up, bail out, Gerry-rig, bolster, stabilize, or otherwise rescue capitalists and property owners.img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/money_latest/~4/qclklvIFfd0" height="1" width="1"/

The credit market showed modest signs of improvement Tuesday as lending rates eased, and Treasury prices fell, although yields remained at very low levels, as the markets await an evaluation of the government's $700 billion bailout program. .img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/money_latest/~4/8BRPYBaBb20" height="1" width="1"/

Asian equities slid after signs of a deepening economic slump slammed stocks worldwide the previous day, driving U.S. Treasury yields to their lowest since the 1950s.

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/96014?ns=guardianpageName=Business%3A+Government+puts+RBS+lending+policy+under+scrutinych=Businessc3=The+Guardianc4=Royal+Bank+of+Scotland+%28Business%29%2CBanking+sector+%28Business%29%2CRegulators%2CBusiness%2CMortgages+%28Money%29%2CBanks+and+building+societies%2CMoney%2CEconomic+policy%2CPoliticsc5=Personal+Finance%2CInvestments%2CCredit+Crunch%2CNot+commercially+useful%2CBusiness+Markets%2CProperty+Mortgages+and+Interest+Ratesc6=Jill+Treanor%2CRupert+Jonesc7=2008_12_02c8=1127185c9=articlec10=GUc11=Businessc12=Royal+Bank+of+Scotlandc13=c14=h2=GU%2FBusiness%2FRoyal+Bank+of+Scotland" width="1" height="1" //divpRoyal Bank of Scotland was put on notice yesterday that its lending policy, boardroom appointments and business strategy were being reviewed by the government as it took control of 58% of the Edinburgh-based bank./ppThe body set up to oversee the government's stake said it was in "active discussions" about the bank's strategy. UK Financial Investments said that John Crompton, hired from Merrill Lynch, would manage the stake that came under government control yesterday after shareholders shunned a pound;15bn cash call. It has presented the taxpayer with a paper loss of about pound;2.5bn. The UKFI said it was "putting in place arrangements to secure a robust assurance" that commitments to maintain lending to homeowners and small businesses at 2007 levels for the next three years were fulfilled./ppMeanwhile RBS's new chief executive, Stephen Hester, yesterday promised to grant a six-month moratorium to home owners struggling to keep up with mortgage payments. RBS pre-empted any government crackdown on repossessions by asserting that it would give customers falling into arrears six months rather than three months before beginning any repossession proceedings./ppThe move was welcomed by the Treasury and is expected to become a benchmark for the industry. Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable said it was "welcome news" for RBS customers. But, he added: "It will be a mere drop in the ocean unless it is followed by the whole industry. The government must now insist that all the nationalised and part-nationalised banks follow suit."/ppNorthern Rock, the nationalised bank responsible for a tenth of all repossessions, insisted it actually took 15 months for homes to be repossessed./ppHBOS, which owns the country's largest mortgage lender Halifax, which is accepting a pound;12bn government rescue package, said it would look at the RBS announcement but felt it already had a package in place to deal with customers in difficulty./ppLloyds TSB, which will take over HBOS next year and is likely to be 40% owned by the taxpayer, said borrowers were usually at least six months in arrears before it began repossession steps./ppThe Council of Mortgage Lenders will use its annual conference today to urge "an honest assessment of the challenges facing the lending industry". It appealed against the imposition of strict criteria on repossessions for each lender./pp"In a large number of cases, borrowers are already able to remain in their home for six months or longer while they work with the lender on implementing a plan to pay off their arrears," it said. "But in cases where there is little or no equity in the property - and no chance of the borrower getting back on his feet in a short period - it may be in the best interests of the home-owner to move towards selling the property rather than allowing arrears to continue to build up over a long period."/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/royalbankofscotlandgroup"Royal Bank of Scotland/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/banking"UK banking sector/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/regulators"Regulators/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/mortgages"Mortgages/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/banks"Banks and building societies/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/economy"Economic policy/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/vb3TVPgl9pQWbnvPOkAIHCmTSCU/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/vb3TVPgl9pQWbnvPOkAIHCmTSCU/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/48298?ns=guardianpageName=Business%3A+Shoppers+paying+less+at+checkout+as+VAT+is+cutch=Businessc3=The+Guardianc4=Retail+industry+%28Business%29%2CTax+and+spending%2CBusiness%2CCredit+crunch+%28Business%29%2CConsumer+affairs+%28Money%29%2CMoneyc5=Personal+Finance%2CCredit+Crunch%2CBusiness+Marketsc6=Richard+Wray%2CChris+Tryhornc7=2008_12_02c8=1127194c9=articlec10=GUc11=Businessc12=Retail+industryc13=c14=h2=GU%2FBusiness%2FRetail+industry" width="1" height="1" //divpMany shoppers found yesterday that the price at the till was less than the one on the label, as the cut in VAT came into effect./ppAlistair Darling announced last week that standard value added tax would be cut from 17.5% to 15% for 13 months, to raise consumer confidence. The reduction would cost the government pound;12.5bn in lost revenue and retailers pound;200m as they reprice items./ppShops that have decided to pass on the reduction to consumers have two weeks to bring labels into line with the prices they charge. Tesco and Sainsbury's dropped their prices over the weekend, before the official cut. DSG International, which owns Currys and PC World, cut its prices hours after the chancellor ended his speech./ppOther businesses introduced the rate yesterday. "Most retailers, particularly major retailers, are passing the VAT cut on to customers," said a spokesman for the British Retail Consortium. /ppA group of 20 retailers including MS, Next and Sir Philip Green's Arcadia, said last week they would pass on the reduction. MS has not reduced advertised prices but customers get the reduced price at tills. At Asda, price labels on shelves are being changed but reduced VAT will be automatically calculated at checkouts. Discount store Aldi has already rounded down prices of 350 non-food items (there is no VAT on food) and 500 "special buys". While gas and electricity are on an unchanged 5% rate, telecoms services are on standard VAT. BT spent the weekend changing its billing systems so customers would benefit from yesterday. /ppIts basic broadband was pound;7.95 for the first three months and is now pound;7.78; its top of the range broadband was pound;23.99 a month and is now pound;23.48. The head of BT's consumer business, John Petter, said: "We have had a bit of a hectic weekend. It makes for slightly jagged price points so ... we will probably at some stage tidy up our prices just to get a sensible price point customers can add up in their heads."/ppVirgin Media cut its call charges yesterday and hopes to introduce the new rate across all services soon. Any customer inadvertently overcharged would get a rebate in subsequent bills./ppBT's public payphones have also been changed. Although the minimum remains 40p, callers get more time, as do mobile customers with top-up cards. Vodafone and Orange have added 25p-worth of calls to their pound;10 top-up vouchers. Customers who pay by monthly contract will see VAT fall on their next bill./ppThe price of petrol will not drop. A spokesman for the AA said that, based on the weekend's average price, the most recent available, VAT at the new rate accounted for 13.62p of the price of a litre - 1.69p less than it did at 17.5%. But the government is also raising fuel duty by 2p a litre, so customers lose overall, with an extra pound;200,000 a day to the Treasury./ppOne filling station began offering fuel with no VAT. Chris Woodruff, who runs the Jet station in Darsham, Suffolk, claimed his was the cheapest in the country, at 79.9p a litre for petrol and diesel at 93.9p a litre, for the first 10,000 litres sold: "We're practically giving it away. It'll probably cost us pound;1,000 in lost profits, but we wanted to make a point. In rural Suffolk, we don't have a network of public transport, so whenever the government puts up fuel duty it hits hard."/pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/retail"Retail industry/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/taxandspending"Tax and spending/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/creditcrunch"Credit crunch/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/consumeraffairs"Consumer affairs/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/2t9CXQOvJDTrXGS3v5lE63coKb4/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/2t9CXQOvJDTrXGS3v5lE63coKb4/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

From the on line edition of today's New York Times: Among the options, he said, the Fed can start aggressively buying up longer-term Treasury securities. That would have the effect of driving down longer-term interest rates. The Fed is already doing something of that sort, by buying up commercial debt from private companies as well as mortgage-backed securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Investors reacted to Mr. Bernanke's remarks by pouring money into longer-term Treasury bonds, which briefly pushed already-low yields on 10-year and 30-year Treasuries to new record lows. Investors appeared to be reacting mainly to the clear signal from Mr. Bernanke that the Fed was preparing to pump money into the economy by buying up longer-term bonds. If I, the all-powerful Federal Reserve, let you know that I will soon start purchasing asset X in order to decrease its yield (i.e. drive up its price, as X is a fixed coupon bond) what will you, the private investor, do? Well, if you are not completely drunk you will purchase asset X (Treasury bonds) today and finance it by selling asset Y (stocks) in order to capture the promised capital gains that my future purchases of asset X will create for you ... oops, by selling stocks today you are forcing their prices to drop? Life is tough, honey and we are here to make money, aren't we? Apparently they call this kind of stuff "activist monetary policy". It is supposed to make all of us better off, and support stock market's prices. Oh yeah ...

divimg alt="" src="http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.15.1/26782?ns=guardianpageName=Business%3A+Markets+sink+as+recession+in+US+is+confirmedch=Businessc3=guardian.co.ukc4=US+economy+%28Business%29%2CBusiness%2CMarket+turmoil%2CGlobal+economy+%28Business%29%2CInterest+rates+%28Business%29c5=Credit+Crunch%2CBusiness+Markets%2CProperty+Mortgages+and+Interest+Rates%2CUS+Economyc6=Dan+Milmoc7=2008_12_01c8=1127207c9=articlec10=GUc11=Businessc12=US+economyc13=c14=h2=GU%2FBusiness%2FUS+economy" width="1" height="1" //divpConfirmation that the US is in recession shook Wall Street tonight and set the Dow Jones industrial average on course to end a five-day winning streak./ppThe Dow fell 445 points to 8384 by the afternoon, a drop of 5%. Shareholders balked at an announcement by the National Bureau of Economic Research that the US economy entered recession in December last year. /ppBen Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, said today that further interest rate cuts were "feasible" but the scope to bring the key Fed funds rate below its current 1% was "obviously limited". /ppAnswering audience questions after a speech to business leaders in Austin, Texas, Bernanke said more constraints on risk-taking by large financial institutions were needed to ease the problem of banks being "too big to fail". /ppLimiting the risk-taking of institutions to "feasible" levels would mean "we don't privatise the profits and socialise the losses," Bernanke said. "We need a better system for resolving failing institutions," he added. This may include similar mechanisms to deal with problems at companies outside the banking sector./ppThe NBER's business cycle-dating committee gave Bernanke and his colleagues more bad news to digest when rates are discussed on December 15 by announcing that the US was in recession. The committee, which defines recession as "a significant decline in activity spread across the economy" and is considered an official arbiter of the economic cycle, said the downturn began last December as firms started to shed jobs in large numbers./pp"The committee determined the decline in economic activity in 2008 met the standard for a recession," said the privately owned group. President Bush expressed contrition over the downturn yesterday. In an interview with the ABC television network, he said: "I'm sorry it's happening, of course. Obviously I don't like the idea of people losing jobs." He added authorities would intervene if the financial system suffered further difficulties, after the Fed and US treasury bailed out Citigroup and nationalised mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. /pp"The American people have got to know that we will safeguard the system," the president said./ppThe Dow fell yesterday morning before the NBER statement, following factory output data for November that showed the weakest activity since 1982. /ppInitial optimism about a strong start to the shopping season also appeared to evaporate as retail stocks were hammered on concerns that heavily discounted sales would hit profits. The SP 500 and Nasdaq indices were off by more than 6%./ppMarket-watchers said the Dow would have struggled to retain recent gains because hedge funds are still dumping assets to pay investors who are withdrawing funds, and to settle bank loans. /pp"I don't know of a single investment strategist who thinks that we are at the beginning of a bull market. It looks like it will be a long recession," said Brian Gendreau, of ING Investment Management in New York./pdiv style="float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"ullia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/useconomy"US economy/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/marketturmoil"Market turmoil/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/globaleconomy"Global economy/a/lilia href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/interestrates"Interest rates/a/li/ul/diva href="http://www.guardian.co.uk"guardian.co.uk/a copy; Guardian News Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our a href="http://users.guardian.co.uk/help/article/0,,933909,00.html"Terms Conditions/a | a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/webfeeds/1,,1309488,00.html"More Feeds/a pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/r1_Gs_wICuhqUud18l1RR5NriT0/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~at/r1_Gs_wICuhqUud18l1RR5NriT0/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/p

The federal government is reviewing applications from hundreds of banks seeking rescue funding and is "actively" developing new programs to right the nation's unsettled financial system, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday.img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/money_latest/~4/o3iEQWnsANA" height="1" width="1"/

Yields on U.S. Treasury debt fell further Monday, after sinking to historic lows last week, as the grim economic outlook continues to drive demand for ultra-safe government debt investments.img src="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/rss/money_latest/~4/QJvRFzjYR14" height="1" width="1"/