Geithner: Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss?

Tim Geithner's pending appointment as Treasury Secretary was a flimsy excuse for the Dow to rally 500 points, but rally it did.

He has been involved in nearly every bad decision Paulson has made since Bear Stearns went down, but the head of the New York Fed has been distancing himself of late. Jimmy Rogers recently called him "an idiot", although to be fair, Jimmy calls everyone an idiot.

Yes, Geithner is a smart guy, and has been working to this important appointment for years now, but I am not sure he will change policy direction at Treasury much. Go read his Op-Ed, Reducing risk in the financial system, in the FT from early June, it will at least put you inside his head.

The change, it had to come. Get on your knees and pray, that President Elect Obama can pull this out. And that Geithner provides some badly needed transparency. And he never worked at Goldman, thankfully.

Rock on, America.

Be sure to read Felix Salmon’s take on it at Portfolio.com, he has long championed Geithner if I am not mistaken. But perhaps he is just following Brad Setser on this one, love you guys but I am long street smarts and short policy wonks with actual work experience....sound familiar:

Brad Setser, a former Treasury official who worked briefly for Geithner both there and at the International Monetary Fund, said he has “a great deal of confidence that Tim can communicate effectively with a broad public.” Setser, who is a fellow at (and blogs for) the Council on Foreign Relations, said Geithner is particularly skilled at thinking ahead, “anticipating where the world will be in three or six months time” and how policy can help. Business Week

Fair enough, guys. Anyone is better than Paulson. We shall soon find out of if Geithner is indeed pragmatic.
________________________________________________________

Click to visit Muckety relationship map
>
_________________________________________________________

Geithner Pick Lifts Stocks
WSJ

Obama to Nominate New York Fed Chief Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary
Business Week

Family describes Geithner ‘83’s youth
The Dartmouth.com

Geithner at Treasury? A Look Back in His Own Words
Real-Time Economics

Tim Geithner - Club Kid
Group of Thirty

Salmon’s Man Crush on Geithner
Portfolio

June 1985
CAROLE M. SONNENFELD WED TO T. F. GEITHNER
NYT
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of underthecounter. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author.

Comments:

<< Back to main