Financial markets were dominated this week by the announcement by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke to buy as much as $300 billion of long-term Treasuries and acquire an additional $750 billion of mortgage-backed securities. On the news, the US dollar plunged, the euro surged, Treasury yields nose-dived, gold bullion exploded, and stocks, oil and commodities gained handsomely. What an announcement, what a week!

A few of the more interesting video clips that attracted my attention are shared below. In addition to Bill Gross stating that the Fed’s purchases are still not enough, AIG remained in the news as payment of bonuses to its executives from bailout money stirred up emotions. This culminated in the House of Representatives passing a bill to tax TARP bonuses by 90%.

As far as the stock markets are concerned, with indices running into resistance levels the debate intensified on how enduring the recent gains will be.

The video clips feature the likes of Bill Gross, Steve Forbes, John Lonski, Mario Gabelli, Ron Paul, John Bogle, Barry Ritholtz, Doug Kass, Gary Shilling, Meredith Whitney, Marc Faber, Jim Rogers and Stephen Roach.

John Authers (Financial Times): Fed’s shock and awe
“John Authers on market reaction to the Federal Reserve’s decision to buy $300 billion in long-dated Treasury bonds.”

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Click here for the article.

Source: John Authers, Financial Times, March 18, 2009.

Bloomberg: Pimco’s Gross says more Fed buying needed to spur growth
“Bill Gross, co-chief investment officer of Pacific Investment Management Co., talks with Bloomberg’s Kathleen Hays about the Federal Reserve’s plan to buy more than $1 trillion in Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities in an effort to help revive the economy. Gross also discusses the Fed’s balance sheet, currency concerns and the need for a ‘healthy level’ of inflation.”
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Source: Bloomberg, March 19 2009.

60 Minutes: The Chairman – Ben Bernanke
“In a rare interview with a sitting Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke tells Scott Pelley what went wrong with America’s financial system, how it caused the economic crisis, what the Fed is doing to help fix it and when he expects the recession to end. If you think your job is tough, consider Ben Bernanke’s. As Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the task of reviving the US economy falls largely on his shoulders.

In Part 2 of the interviewBernanke candidly speaks to Pelley about his personal life, and how the current financial crisis is affecting Main Street America.

Source: 60 Minutes, March 15, 2009.

Bloomberg: Geithner says US to move quickly on “legacy assets”
“US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner talks with Bloomberg’s Lizzie O’Leary about the US government’s plan to ‘move very quickly’ on impaired ‘legacy assets’ clogging bank balance sheets. Geithner also discusses planned action by the Group of 20 nations to end the global recession, executive compensation and US cooperation with China. They talk following a meeting of the G-20 finance ministers and central bankers today in Horsham, England.”

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Source: Bloomberg, March 14, 2009.

CNBC: Forbes – Geithner, Bernanke have “the slows”
“Ben Bernanke and Tim Geithner both have a bad case of ‘the slows’, Steve Forbes, Chairman & CEO of Forbes, tells CNBC’s Martin Soong. Both of them have been slow to take decisive action on the banking crisis.”

Source: CNBC, March 20, 2009.

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