House Financial Services Chairman Barney
Frank (D-Mass.) is pressing state and federal authorities to seek criminal and civil
penalties on financial actors that helped cause the current crisis. "Rules don't work
if people have no fear of them," Frank said at a press conference Thursday.
As he spoke, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped nearly 200 points. Geithner described the actions
taken by the past administration as absolutely essential but
inadequate because of a lack
of oversight and failure to quickly address the foreclosure crisis. But Geithner
stopped short of imposing some of the stricter conditions proposed... opting to allow
banks to decide how they spend the recovery funds.
President Barack
Obama used his first prime-time news conference to paint an extraordinarily bleak picture
of Americas future if Congress fails to move quickly to pass stimulus legislation,
warning that inaction could turn a crisis into a catastrophe.