NPR News 2009-05-08 加文本
NPR News 2009-05-08
From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Speer.
The government has released results of its so-called "stress tests", involving 19 of the nation's largest banks and financial institutions. Some banks like J.P. Morgan Chase have been told they don't need to raise capital, while others like Bank of America were told they need to boost their reserves by 34 billion dollars. At a briefing earlier today, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said the results should give both banks and borrowers some confidence though he said there are still ways to go.
"Our hope is that with these actions today, banks are gonna be able to get back to the business of banking. The leaders of our nation's banks have a lot to do to earn back the public's trust."
The findings of the combination of a-month-long exercise aimed at assessing the health of the financial system. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said today none of the financial firms are technically insolvent though he said the government has determined just over half need to increase their capital.Today, Attorney General Eric Holder tried to calm Senators' fears about bringing Guantanamo Bay detainees to the US. He said his top priority is American's safety. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.
Attorney General Holders said he's not made decisions about where Guantanamo detainees will go. Senators from both parties responded "Not in my backyard". Richard Shelby is a Republican from Alabama.
"Do you know of any community in the United States of America that would welcome terrorists, former terrorists, would-be terrorists, people trained as terrorists that have been incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay into any community in this country?"
"It will not be the intention of this task force review the intention of this administration or this Attorney General to place anybody in any part of this world who is a risk."
Holder has encouraged other countries to take some detainees. There are roughly 240 men at Guantanamo. Ari Shapiro NPR News, Washington.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she and her Russian counterpart are trying to take bilateral relations to a new level. She met today to set the stage for a US- Russia summit this summer. NPR's Michelle Kelemen reports.
Secretary Clinton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov both told reporters they want to normalize relations and look forward, not backward. Clinton said US and Russian negotiators are already hard at work on a replacement for the strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. And she said lingering tensions over Russia's war in neighboring Georgia last year won't get in the way.
"I think old thinking to say that, you know, we have a disagreement in one area, therefore we shouldn't work in something else that is of overwhelming importance. That's just not the way we think."
President Obama is expected to meet his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow in July. Michelle Kelemen, NPR News, the State Department.
On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 102 points, ending the session at 8,409; the NASDAQ was down 42 points today; the S&P 500 fell 12 points.
This is NPR
According to the US health officials, only around 10% of the Americans who've contracted swine flu actually went to Mexico. The government says the remainder of those with the virus appeared to have gotten it in the US or elsewhere. That's a change from the weekend when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said about a third of US cases involved people who have travelled to Mexico when the current outbreak began. According to the CDC, there are now about 900 confirmed cases of swine flu in the US.
Less than two days after losing a bid for re-election, the mayor of Mississippi's capital city has died. NPR's Debbie Elliott has more.
Jackson mayor Frank Melton died overnight after being admitted to a Jackson hospital Tuesday shortly after a poll’s closed. He finished third in the municipal primary. A former television station owner and personality, Melton was elected in 2005 by a landslide. He was a mentor to inner city youth and promised to stamp out crime in Mississippi's largest city. But his unorthodox tactics drew controversy. He was set to go on trial Monday on federal civil rights charges for a warrantless police-style raid on what Melton believed to be a crack house. He was accused of busting up the duplex with the sledgehammer. In recent years, Melton had been repeatedly hospitalized with heart problems and had undergone bypass surgery. He was 60 years old. Debbie Elliott, NPR News.
Consumers sharply reined in the pace of their borrowing in March. The Federal Reserve says consumer credit plunged by more than 5%, the biggest decline since a more than 8% drop-off in December. Government says revolving credit which includes credit card and store charge card debt fell by 6.8%, non-revolving debt was down by 4%.
I'm Jack Speer, NPR News in Washington
手机网站