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A day after a dramatic move in interest rates, the Federal Reserve on Monday increased the amount of liquidity it’s offering in short-term lending to the financial industry.In a mid-day announcement, the New York Fed said it will conduct a $500 billion repo operation this afternoon, another move targeted at keeping money flowing through the system. Repo involves banks putting up high-quality collateral like Treasurys in exchange for the liquidity they need to conduct operations.  Monday’s move comes after the Fed stepped up the operations last week, offering up to $1.5 trillion to an industry hungry for the Fed’s offerings.The operation...

Dr. Ben Carson has discovered over $500 billion (that's with a 'B') in errors and accounting mistakes during his audit of the Obama administration’s Housing and Urban Development budget. One of Dr. Carson’s first orders after being confirmed as the Secretary of HUD was a thorough audit of the agency, which has been accused of fraud and over-budgeted projects throughout the entire Obama administration. What did the auditors find? Over $520 billion in budgetary mistakes and clerical errors.

US calls for tripling of IMF firepower By Alan Beattie in Washington Published: March 11 2009 18:12 | Last updated: March 11 2009 21:42 The US raised the stakes in its drive for an aggressive response to the global financial crisis on Wednesday, calling for a tripling of the International Monetary Fund’s firepower and bigger fiscal stimulus measures worldwide. Tim Geithner, US Treasury secretary, called for the radical changes ahead of the Group of 20 finance ministers’ meeting in the UK this weekend. “Lots of things that did not seem realistic in the past are not just realistic but compelling,”...

As David Letterman used to say, back when he wasn't so bitter (and actually funny), "Wake the neighbors, phone the kids..."It's Stimulus Package time - starring Nancy Pelosi and the Cap-Hill Gang!Can I get a great big "yippee?" Or an arm-waving "woo hoo?"Here we go ... tossing around "billions" like I throw remote controls at the TV set watching the New York Mets play (or the Jets this past Sunday).Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is talking $500 billion - or half a trillion, if you want to exacerbate your disgust.From Reuters, via Yahoo: U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy...