bravo for stocks, falling jobless claims and henry paulson today.y. stocks stayed up ins the marvelous surprising rally that has taken the dow up 7% so far this week. aagree with my pal, jimmy cramer, big superstars are recapitulating. tech generally led the banks this week but commodities and retailers are coming on as a sign of economic recovery. jobless claims fell 95,000 in the last two weeks. if that number can hold up, it might mean that unemployment will peak much sooner than lower, jobs could quit falling. it could be a huge plus, fasten your seatbelts on that one. better earnings are driving this rally.y. i am still fully committed to the bank stock story. we'll look ahead to tomorrow's earnings for citigroup and ge capital. cit is not too big to fail, isn't that knowing score one for free market capitalism, stocks are okay with the story. >>> three cheers for henry paulson on today's congressional show trial. i am going to give him and award later in the show. you won't want to miss it. he's a stand-up guy in contrast to the republican and d

dana bate reports lawmakers are still looking for answers. >> reporter: former treasury secretary henry paulson may be out of the office, but he's still under the gun. lawmakers slammed the treasury's handling of the bank of america deal-- saying paulson bullied executives into completing the purchase of merrill lynch. but paulson gave little ground as he defended the pressure he put on bank of america c.e.o. ken lewis. >> i was attempting to send a very strong message to ken lewis in terms of how strongly the fed and treasury viewed this matter. >> reporter: they viewed it strongly because they worried a cancelled deal would throw the markets into turmoil. significant losses at merrill lynch were giving lewis second thoughts. but paulson says pulling out would have been a bad call. >> it would have shown a lack of judgement, and i think it would have really undermined the viability of b. of a. and merrill lynch and the financial system. >> reporter: last month, fed chairman ben bernanke told the committee the government did nothing inappropriate to intimidate bank of america executives. today,

on thursday, former treasury secretary henry paulson makes his first appearance in front of congress since leaving office he is scheduled to testify about his role in pushing for the bank of america merrill lynch deal. this week, paulson released a copy of his testimony - saying the government acted appropriately - and that he told b of a's ceo that the federal reserve could eliminate the bank's top exectuves if they canceled the merger with merrill lynch. "an attempt by bank of america to break its contract to acquire merrill lynch would have threatened the stability of our entire financial system and the viability of both bank of america and merrill lynch," paulson's testimony states: "an attempt by bank of america to break its contract to acquire merrill lynch would have threatened the stability of our entire financial system and the viability of both bank of america and merrill lynch," paulson's appearance in front of congress is part of a larger investigation into the government's role but political experts say it's nothing more than a show and the investigation is not likely to

treasury-secretary henry paulson former ceo of goldman sachs, this is how it all started. he was the former head of goldman sachs. then, of course, george w. bush made him treasury-secretary. what is the first thing that he does. first thing we go into this crisis, he let's bear stearns fail. that was one of the big competitors of goldman sachs. and then fannie and freddie, then he says lee lehman brothers which is the biggest competitor of goldman sachs, let them fail. so the former goldman sachs ceo let's two companies fail. the one company which was one of their competitors and then the sending one was the biggest competitor. then they decide the next day after lehman's chief stopped aig failed. the only one to help paulson out the former ceo of goldman sachs, in the room was a guy named lloyd blanenstein. they decided you should bail out aig. so they bail out the day after they let their competitors out, they bail them out to the tune of $85 billion. these two jean uses, say yes, you have to do that for the economy. so who is the biggest single payout from aig? what a

we turn now to our witness, henry paulson.e served as secretary of the treasury from 2006-2009, at january 2009. he previously served as the chairman and ceo of goldman sachs. it is policy that we swear our witnesses in. >> ok. thank you. what do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, and the whole truth, and nothing but the truce? >> yes. >> he may be seated. >> distinguished members of the committee, i served as secretary of the treasury from july 2006- january 2009. during my tenure, the world experience of financial crisis was unprecedented in our lifetime. the crisis presented a relentless series of novels challenges that required swift and innovative responses. had the crisis of 2008 been let to one fold without strong federal reaction and intervention, the world 2009 would look very different from the world we live in today. many more americans will be without their homes, their jobs, and their businesses, their savings, their way of life. the crisis last fall friend to disrupt our financial system, not just the institut

treasury-secretary henry paulson former ceo of goldman sachs, this is how it all started. he was the former head of goldman sachs. then, of course, george w. bush made him treasury-secretary. what is the first thing that he does. first thing we go into this crisis, he let's bear stearns fail. that was one of the big competitors of goldman sachs. and then fannie and freddie, then he says lee lehman brothers which is the biggest competitor of goldman sachs, let them fail. so the former goldman sachs ceo let's two companies fail. the one company which was one of their competitors and then the sending one was the biggest competitor. then they decide the next day after lehman's chief stopped aig failed. the only one to help paulson out the former ceo of goldman sachs, in the room was a guy named lloyd blanenstein. they decided you should bail out aig. so they bail out the day after they let their competitors out, they bail them out to the tune of $85 billion. these two jean uses, say yes, you have to do that for the economy. so who is the biggest single payout from aig? what a

. >> susie: former treasury secretary henry paulson is defending his actions during the financial crisis. tomorrow he will testify on capitol hill about bank of america's controversial acquisition of merrill lynch. paulson released today his prepared remarks, saying bank of america had no legal basis to nix the merrill deal and doing so would have shown a quote, "colossal lack of judgment." paulson also says it was appropriate for him to warn b.o.a's c.e.o. ken lewis that the bank's management could be ousted, if it rejected the merrill purchase. >> jeff: investors viewed today as a colossal buying opportunity, after intel's better-than-expected results last night. the dow opened nearly 100 points higher at the bell. intel shares leapt 8%, giving the dow a 180 point gain by noontime. adding to the bullishness, credit card issuers like american express say they're now seeing fewer defaults and delinquencies. that helped the financials and added more fuel to today's rocket ride higher. the dow rose 256.72 points to close at 8,616.21. the nasdaq added 63 points to 1,862.90. the s&p 500 gain

tonight's real deal sound checks accusations live and cover-ups, that's what came out of grilling henry paulson on capitol hill. today, congress supposedly were investigating whether paulson improperly pressured bank of america to go through with its troubled deal to buy merrill lynch, supposedly. but the real agenda came through in the questioning, the real agenda was to give congressman an opportunity to beat up on hank paulson and grab camera time. this may be the most infuriating exchange of the day. >> since appointed by president bush as secretary of treasury in 2006 until today have you or any of your family had any financial ties or investments related to goldman sachs in any way whatsoever? >> no. >> thank you. what about bank of america? >> not that i know of. >> president bush was not the first president you served. who was the first president you served. >> richard nixon. >> richard nixon. >> now, see, this is where sometimes i wish we could use the f word on cnbc because if i may address the gentle lady congresswoman from ohio, how freakin dear you, hank paulson worked for nixon 35

. >>> former treasury secretary, henry paulson, will find himself on the capitol hill hot seat today. paulson will testify about his actions in the bank of america takeover of merrill lynch. in prepared testimony, paulson said he was justified in suggesting bank of america's chief executive could lose his job on plans to back out to buy merrill. >>> on the west coast, investigators are looking for the cause of a fatal plane crash just short of the airport in hawthorne, california. it could have been much worse. the crash spewed aviation fuel over a wide area, and narrowly missed several buildings. >>> and a jumble of flight recording tape may hold clues to iran's deadliest air crash in a decade. it was found in a crater in debris and human remains after yesterday's crash. 168 people were aboard the caspian airlines flight that had just taken off from tehran, headed for armenia. >>> shuttle "endeavour" is finally on its way to the international space station. after five, scrubbed launches, "endeavour" lifted off on a 16-day mission. nasa is keeping a close eye on parts of the shuttle t

on thursday, former treasury secretary henry paulson will face lawmakers as they continue grilling all the players involved in the bank of america - merrill lynch merger. in his first congressional appearance since leaving office paulson will testify in front of the house committee on oversight and government reform... as part of an ongoing investigation. lawmakers want to know more details about paulson's role in pushing bank of america to buy merrill lynch - just as huge losses were coming to light that could have derailed the deal... because b of a's ceo wanted to back out. in june, federal reserve chairman ben bernanke testified in front of congress - he denied ever threatening to replace bank of america's management - if they did not go forward with deal to buy merill lynch. bank of america has received 45 billion in goverment aid plus guarantees on more than 100 billion in assets. confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor... are set to begin on monday. the senate judiciary committee will call dozens of witnesses to speak to sotomayor's personal character.. a

henry paulson was on the hot seat. this is the most controversial bailout of last fall. what you're seeing is, he give the taxpayer money to ken lewis to buy maryland for without strings attached. bank of america was trying to get out it is a controversial issue going on right now. henry paulson as saying, we did not have the tarp money to bail out merrill lynch they went under. he was the shotgun behind the marriage. martha: hank paulson was picking and choosing who he wanted to save. some deals got 100 cents on the dollar. it is a fascinating tale. everyone should go to the fox business network website and read about it. what is unraveling on capitol hill is interesting. thank you for bringing it to us attention. trace: we are on to the next phase of the confirmation hearings for sonia sotomayor. questions are just wrapping up. more witnesses testify, including the white firefighter in that reverse discrimination case. judge sotomayor ruled against him. shannon, republicans seem to be conceding that her record as a judge is pretty mainstream. that is not the end of the

. >>> and former treasury secretary henry paulson was on the hill today, a target of sharp criticism for forcing bank of america to acquire merrill lynch. members of both parties criticized him for the way taxpayer money was used to rescue the nation's banks. he said no one was more protective of the american taxpayer than i was. >>> next, to space, and concerns about the space shuttle. normally, one or two pieces of debris might hit the shuttle during a launch. but yesterday, as many as a dozen pieces were detected. not something to be taken lightly. ryan owens is at the johnson space center. >> we are ready to start. >> reporter: instead of staring into the heavens, "endeavour" astronauts spent their first full day in space tediously examining the underbelly of the shuttle. what they've found so far looks disturbingly familiar -- a series of nicks and scratches on the shuttle's supersensitive thermal tiles. >> we have a bit of a mystery on the external tank foam loss. it's from an area that we don't expect to see foam to be lost. >> reporter: at least a dozen pieces of debris, incl

the big question is, what will henry paulson say when he appears on capitol hill. you'll see excerpts here on fox throughout the afternoon and here on this show tomorrow morning. gretchen: twitter us or e-mail us and let us know what you think. meantime, supreme court nominee sonia sotomayor faces her final day of questioning on capitol hill. connecticut firefighter frank ricci will take the stand why is this important? he's the guy who had that racial discrimination case rejected by sotomayor. she upheld a decision to throw out the exam that he and other firefighters took because not enough minorities did well, even though ricci did well. well, that was recently overturned by the u.s. supreme court. yesterday sotomayor wouldn't define her views on abortion as well. listen to this. >> i can't answer that in the abstract because the question as it would come before me wouldn't be -- in the way that you form it, as a citizen. it would come to me as a judge in the context of some action that someone's taking. gretchen: a vote by the full senate to confirm sotomayor is

well, finally, i have had my differences before with henry paulson and a couple of frosty interviewsully appreciate the crisis he was almost singlehandedly dealing with last fall but for congress to play high and mighty and trump their indig at this indignity ti into strong-arming america into that merrill lynch acquisition is beyond everything. say what you want, the guy was working his ass off last fall. i don't remember congress doing much more than yapping last fall. he was working every weekend, by the way, so was i, sending briefs to congress every day, cobbling together rescues that he thought were paramount. again, we can argue that. no arguing this, he weents flying in the dark and wasn't leaving anyone in the dark. he briefed. they bellowed but for them to bellow that he never briefed, well, let me be brief -- shut up! congress knew what was at stake and was clearly briefed on what was at stake. they signed on to rescues that themselves needed rescuing but they signed on to them. back then, i alienated mr. paulson and much of the bush financial team when every day i was rip

and what is a stranger paring bernanke and henry paulson or paul senate in geithner? >> on a personal basis as far as i could discover and mr. geithner are certainly much more to of a kind and then mr. paulson and mr. bernanke. >> can you explain that? >> well, let's say that i can't -- but i have a kind of look at life that is marked parallel and a look at economics and financial methods that are more comparable. i think it must have been quite difficult situation for mr. bernanke when the financial crisis turned and maybe you can go back in your memory, it took quite a while for paulson and the bush administration to realize that this was really bad. this is not just a minor crisis that would go away in three months' time and i think there have been very interesting articles amongst "the new york times" about what bernanke had to do to convince paulson and other people in the bush administration that this was serious and is needed urgent personal reaction to prevent from getting into something really bad. >> there was a lot of resistance to government intervention i

institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> former treasury secretary henry paulsonwas before them earlier this week. you can see that later on c-span. >> and remarks from president obama at naacp at an an event marking the anniversary of the group. you can see that speech today on c-span. >> you're watching c-span, created as a public service by the nation's cable company. at 10 newsmakers and at 3:30 state emergency preparations for the national governors' association national conference. >> at 7:30 national journal and 8:00 buzz aldrin on the 20th anniversary of the

." ♪ better believe we are magic, dot let your head ever stray ♪ >> former treasury secretary henry paulsonled to capitol hill to testify about bank of america's takeover last fall of merrill lynch. he was also questioned about the $700 billion tarp program. lawmakers accused him of using money meant to cover bad mortgages to bail out banks instead. he said he had to shift gears because the situation of crumbling. >> the world's largest real tailer, wal-mart, is putting its power behind the green revolution. it plans to give every within of its product an environmental impact rating. >> reporter: if you want to know how healthy your food is, you can check the nutrition label. now wal-martant you to be able to check a label on all products from toys to now wal-mart wants you to be able to check a label on all products from toys to televisions to tennis shoes to see how green they are. wal-mart announced it will be asking all of its tens of thousands of suppliers 15 questions, things like how much does making or using your product contribute to global warming? how much waste was produced in m

when the banking crisis was at its worst, former treasury secretary henry paulson helped orchestrate bank of america's buyout of merrill lynch. today, he admitted that he pressured them to complete that deal, even hinting the administrator could lose his job if he backed out. >>> also, lender cit group. its stock dropped more than 70%, after the government said no to emergency funding. c.i.t. lends to thousands of small and midsized businesses. it could become the fourth largest bankruptcy in u.s. history. also on the down side today was nokia. it plummeted 67%. recession or not, chicago pulled out all of the stops, unveiling a new name for the country's tallest skyscraper. the sears tower is now the willis tower. the willis group insurance company negotiated naming rights, since its leasing three floors in the building. >>> and for more money watch, you can check out cbs news new york.com. >>> coming up on eyewitness news at 4:00. historic lunar landing. nasa releases new video of the landing. as we approach the 40t inn easier -- fourth anniversary of the landing. >>> don scott's 35

bank of america and citi tomorrow and henry paulson gets the bravery award.

people of goodwill, ben bernanke and henry paulson, tried to avoid terrible financial harm from what happened. we need to contain derivatives. yes, they play an important role, but they have gotten out of hand. we need to protect consumers because protection of consumers now is dissipated in ways that result in a lack of activity because there is no way to focus responsibility. we deal with executive compensation. the problem with executive compensation is essentially a price estimate standpoint is against perverse incentives. if you are a top decision make there or somewhere else down the chain, -- if you are a top decision maker, or somewhere down the chain, you are incentivize to take a risk. if the risk pays off you suffer no penalty. heads you win, tails you break even. it is like selling lottery tickets only cost money if they pay off. he would tell a lot of tickets but not raise much money. that's the problem. there's also a problem with salaries being excessive. we will work on this tomorrow -- our view is the regulators, the securities and exchange commission, should prevent

today it is henry paulson's turn to tell his side of the story. they want to know if the former treasury secretary forced the bank's management to go through with a buyout. ben bernanke and ken lewis ceoo have testify about the deal. >>> residents looking for work will get a crack at similar stimulus jobs. eleanor holmes norton is hosting a job fair at the washington convention center. 80 employers will be there including private companies, federal and local agencies and nonprofit and training organizations. patsicanip must bring proof of dc residency and asked to bring resumes and wear professional attire and a jobs workshop including a dress for success fashion show. >>> time for the money-saving tip of the day. did you know your computer, scanner, and other peripherals are using energy after you have turned them off. this is called idle current and can really pad your energy bill. way to eliminate it is to use high-tech power strips. one brand is called the smart strip and senses how much power your equipment is using and provides it or cuts it

henry paulson says he pressured bank of america's c.e.o.o go through with plans to buy merrill lynch. the paulson told the house oversight government reform committee that he did not tell kenneth lewis to hide losses from his shareholders. >> the statement has been made that i discouraged mr. lewis from making required disclosures to the public markets about losses at merrill lynch. that simply did not happen, an mr. lewis has denied it unambiguously in testimony before this committee. bret: losses tied to that acquisition resulted in a $20 billion government bailout. the number of people applying for unemployment benefits and continuing to get them both went down last week. the labor department says new applications dropped by 47,000 to 522,000, the fewest since earl hadly january r the number of people still getting help fell by 642,000, to 6.27 million. that's the lowest figure since mid april. stocks were up again today. the dow finished ahead 95 and the s&p 500 gained just over 8, and the nasdaq rose 22 and change. president obama ran

they will be hearing today from henry paulson and our cameras will be there so we have a chance to see thursday morning, it is day 34 judge sotomayor. let's bring you live pictures from the room where the hearings have been taking place and after hearings take place for the senators, they will move onto different questions. it will be live about 40 minutes from now. let's show you what our website looks like, c-span.org, and you can see front and center the sotomayor hearings. you have an option down the side there for you to choose any camera. you can keep your eye on senators or keep it trained on witnesses, including the judge herself. that is your choice as you use the control room on the internet. we are now going to take you to the senate side of capitol hill for live coverage of the hearings. and you for being with us. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> thank you, judge, and welcome back to the committee for a fourth day. you seem to have weathered this well, and i hope that others have to. mr. they

furthermore, former treasury secretary henry paulson who engineered the $750 billion bailout of wall street and created the tarp program was also the former c.e.o. and chairman of goldman sachs. and another noncould he incident, during his time as -- noncoincident, during his time as c.e.o. of goldman sachs, he let goldman sachs' main competitor, lieman brothers, fail, thus ensuring that they would pay goldman sachs $2.9 billion in losses making goldman sachs the largest recipient of funds from a.i.g. until december, 2008, the chairman of the new york reserve, steven freeman, was a former member of goldman sachs. he resigned as chairman over his purchase of goldman sachs stock during his time in his position as new york fed chairman at the reserve. and yet another conflict of interest scenario, let us not fore get that when timcally geithner, who was then president of the -- timothy geithner, who was then president of the new york fed, he gave funds to the acquisition of bear stearns but one of jpmorgan chase was on the board of the new york fed. alarmingly, madam speaker, the obama

treasury secretary henry paulson, former c.e.o. of goldman sachs, this is how it happened. this is how it all started. he was the former head of goldman sachs, and then, of course, george w. bush, he made him treasury secretary r nothing wrong with that. goldman sachs hire a lot of great people, yeah, yeah. what is the first thing he does? the first thing when we go into this crisis is he lets bear stearns fail, one of the big competitors of goldman sachs. then he says fannie and freddie can't fail. we got to bring them in. fannie says lehman brothers, which is the biggest competitor of goldman sachs, let them fail. ok. so, the former goldman sachs c.e.o. now treasury lets two companies fail, the one company which was one of their competitors and the second one was the biggest competitor. then they decide the very next day after lehman, gee, should we let a.i.g. fail? well they had a big conference and the only one in the room that was a banker trying to help hank paulson out, the former c.e.o. of goldman sachs, in the room with him was a guy named lloyd blankenstein, the c

. >> henry paulson is the guy who has took over wall street. washington still has their fingers in there. it is scary. the constitution is a living inkedbly important document. to throw it away is very terrifying. glenn: ben stein. thank you very much. we will be back. i "what do you mean homeowners insurance doesn't cover floods?" "a few inches of water caused all this?" "but i don't even live near the water." what you don't know about flood insurance may shock you. including the fact that a preferred risk policy starts as low as $119 a year. for an agent, call the number on your screen. glenn: tomorrow, america, an episode you won't see anyplace else. who is really in charge of our government and what is really happening in our country. you don't want to miss it. for more information on the show and what we're talking about and

. >>> you can see henry paulson testifying and you heard them intrusion one of the men doing the questioning. elijah cummings. it's an amazing set of theater, questions asked again and again. he said he could lose his job and the government has a right to do that. we have people on stand by to an lice that and we will go right back in to listen. >> and this alignment of interest as you know he said if you didn't take the money, we would fire you and your board. that's a far cry from how you characterize it as a conflict of interest. the interest was what i said. we didn't want b of a to be simple. in terms of my communication i have been direct. i wouldn't use the word threat. i said what i said and i was i intended to give a clear message that that was -- i'm not characterizing it as a threat because lewis didn't characterize it as a threat, but i did explain the fed's powers. that was in terms of the confluence of interest, that's an obvious thing. if you follow the train of logic, you accept the logic or you don't. some will say nothing would have happened to the financial system and i ca

. >>> hank the hero, former treasury secretary henry paulson testifies before congress.aulson been unfairly vilified in the aftermath of the meltdown? i say this story is understood play -- underplayed. i think congress ought to apologize for beating the daylights out of im saying you were right. even obama is only buying $30 billion worth. >> there are a couple stories. hank paulson is the guy who thought he could solve the economic crisis with a three-pager calling for $700 billion in buying toxic assets. this is not some genius guru that saved us from armageddon. >> actually, you are entirely wrong. how can someone i like so much be so wrong. dana, this guy did save the entire system from economic collapse. >> i'm sorry. to the extent paulson is getting any credit, it's overplayed, like giving rumsfeld war hero status for iraq. >> how can you say that? he didn't get us in this mess? >> i sat in a hearing with him in early 2008, there's no problem in the mortgage markets, economy is coming along, the market will take care of itself. >> except for a couple of bears alwa

>> henry paulson will be getting grilled this week by congress.d see sort of more on as bank america turns and what he has to say about that. >> okay, good. upset because he didn't pay the money to buy toxic assets from that plan and the obama administration will use 30 billion of it. finally, dave in l.a., what have you got for tomorrow, babe? >> dennis, with the economy in the toilet, you'll be shocked to discover a lot of phone companies are raising their fees again. tell you which ones. >> david, you get the award for best haircut. nice job. rick, david, lauren, lynn. appreciate you being here. >>> next up, it's the monday battle with those evil bloggers. they may have the keyboard, but i have the sled camera. i am back faster than they can type the sentence i live in my parents' basement. mr. evans? this is janice from onstar. i ve received an automaticignal you've been in a front-end crash. do you need help? yeah. i'll contact emergency servic and stay with you. you okay? yeah. onar. standard for one year o14 chevy models. buwe misd the firs

steve: did former secretary of treasury, henry paulson, cross the line in pushing bank of america tollions and billions of dollars to survive? that's what congress wanted to know. listen. >> ken lewis didn't characterize it as a threat. >> actually, he did characterize it as a threat. he managed to say that he didn't feel threatened while receiving a threat. >> i prefer to characterize it as exploiting the fed soup -- explaining the fed supervisory authorities to him. steve: oh, really? fox news senior judicial analyst judge andrew i napolitano joinss right now. ainsley: good morning. steve: it sounds like he's saying, yeah, we pressured him, strong-armed him but it all worked out. >> the government says to bank of america, we want you to buy merrill lynch, we'll give you the cash with which to do it. the merrill lynch name is golden, we can't let it fail so they sign a contract for $50 billion. the contract has a 30-daytime period in which bank of america can decide is it really worth $50 billion? they have an option to get out. it's called the material adverse change clause, clayto

henry paulson defending his role in the bank of america-merrill lynch deal right now on capitol hill. we'll continue our live coverage of the house hearing under way, and melissa, where are you hanging out? >> i'm melissa francis, i'm live at jpmorgan chase headquarters, the financials giant blew the door off earnings. we have details with the man of the hour, cfo mike cavanaugh. i'll have the exclusive interview coming up live in a little bit. trish. >> we have all your bases covered. i'm here at the new york stock exchange, 90 minutes into trading. we are trading up just barely there on the dow. you've got bank earnings being offset by concerns about cit. we are going to have all of the market news coverage for you, but lets go back to paulson. >> ben bernanke ever suggesting to me that -- >> you don't remember. you know, mr. bernanke said the same thing. he said he didn't remember. >> but what i do -- so you ask where i came away with that view. >> yeah. >> and i participated in a number of meetings and calls, where chairman bernanke participated, there were lawyers from the fed, s

. >> henry paulson, when aig collapsed that fateful weekend in september, turned to goldman sachs, who, and said, aig will make you whole. you will get 100%, 100 cents on the dollar for what you have paid for these products. the issue is that $54 billion in taxpayer money went out the aig front door to settle these wall street traits. these bonds were allowed to be priced checked -- price- tagged by these companies. i am going to get the balance in insurance. martha: they were made whole on their deal. >> it would make the bonds worth more and get more taxpayer money out of aig. it would be an aig insurance payout. that is the question congress needs to address. it is not happening now. it could happen next week. martha: i know you are doing your best to put the issue on the table. we will see if it gets evaluated. thank you. trace: that story keeps getting worse. more grisly news out of the cemetery in suburban chicago. hundreds of bodies were dug up and dumped into a mass grave at the back of the property. others were double stacked in existing graves. it is part of a scheme by four

the house oversight and government committee, we're expecting treasury secretary henry paulson to beginis testimony sometime. as soon as he does, we'll bring it to you live. >> and the markets have turned around a bit here following the philly fed survey. we did see them in slightly positive territory this morning. now we are seeing them in slightly negative territory, kind of a seesaw session to start out things here. and you have this mix of data omg out. you have the jpmorgan news coming out on its face looking good. maybe some of those wamu credit card issues going forward, so there's definitely a combination of data combined front following yesterday's major market search. >> there is one under current i should mention and that is downed volume is three times up volume. so even though we're not down much, a lot of down volume. let's pay some more bills for mother ge and we'll be back with hank paulson's testimony when it begins. speak one financial language. the language of exchanging. together, we're helping to shape the exchanging world. nyse euronext. powering the exchanging wor

. >> former treasury secretary henry paulson testifies on capitol hill this morning about the merger of bank of america and merrill lynch, and federal aid to the institutions. you can watch that live on-line on c-span.org and see it later on c-span network. we are going to show you part of last month's hearing with banc of america ceo ken lewis, talking about how the merger with merrill lynch came about. >> let me walk you through the decision to purchase merrill lynch. we made that decision in september 2008. we did so because we saw the potential benefits i just described and without any promise or expectation of government support. in mid december i with the fis that merrill lynch had significantly raise its forecast of its losses and we contacted officials with treasury and federal reserve to inform them we had concerns about closing transaction. at that time we were considering declaring material adverse change which as a matter of contract law can compel consummation of the deal. treasury and federal reserve representative -- such action, significant concerns about systemic con

tomorrow on "squawk on the street," former treasury secretary henry paulson is going to be sitting down in front of congress. >> oh, that's right. >> i know you'll be listening to every word. he's going to be testifying.g. the house committee and oversight government reform about his role in the banks of america merrill lynch deal. >> he's been criticized for allegedly exerting undue pressure on people. >> phone calls that have expletives telling people get you know what done or you know what will happen? leez going to get to say what he did and when he did it and everyone will be watching tomorrow. you'll see that here. >>> up next, the analysts at fdr capital markets raising his price target on intel in the wake of that upside earnings surprise. steve will join us straight ahead. >>> and later, affordable escapism. call it what you want. while the economy is suffering this business is booming, and shares of the company in the business up 170%, nearly triples since the haines bottom. the ceo of rick's cab ire joins us live. we'll be back. today there's a way to save more for retirement

. ♪ >> henry paulson was on capitol hill during the week, testifying about the government's role in theank of america merrill lynch merger last year. you can see that hearing later today at 1:30. later, remarks from president obama to the naacp, marking the 100th anniversary of the group. you can see her speech later -- you can see his speech later today on c-span. this week, on "newsmakers," mike ross. >> the american people are willing, in a fair and equitable manner, to help pay for a healthcare plan that will insure health care in the future. first, they expect us to squeeze every ounce of savings, waste, fraud, and abuse out of the current system. that is frankly going to mean rethinking how we deliver health care. we now pay providers to treat the sick. we need to rethink how we reimburse providers. it should be based on the value of service and the outcomes of service. a lot of things should be on the table, we believe, for consideration. my concern in this health care reform debate is that we are not taking the time to make the decisions on the tough choices, some of which may n

host: earlier this week, we saw the former treasury secretary henry paulson come back to congress. what was important about his testimony? guest: i think he was defending what the administration did and lawmakers unleashed quite a bit a frustration on him during that questioning and i think he said there was no alternative and that was his message to congress and he had to go back and rehash what the decision-making process was like. host: this was for bank of america? guest: yes and he was explaining what his role was and what the administration did. but i think congress has been getting a lot of reaction from constituents and so they want to go back and dissect what happened and that is a little bit of what happened. host: what was important to go back and dissect in the democrats' mind? guest: what people learned from the bailouts of 2008 and from a republican standpoint a lot of republicans didn't want to support the bailout including john boehner, mitch mcconnell. but now that president bush is out of office they are free to bash anybody who is working for the bush administrat

when we return on "squawk box," the chairman of the oversight committee is geared up to grill henry paulson, heading to the hill today, about the role he played with the bank of america/merrill deal. he's our special deal, congressman towns. >>> take a look at stocks to watch. jpmorgan and first knee-jerk reaction, first blush did this stock up. now 28 cents as well as expect takings of 4 cents but well below normalized earnings for the big bank. revenue was also above. just recently you heard becky talking about some of the things that could be somewhat to blame for the stock selling off a little and that is just talking about the reality of the situation with cards -- >> unlikely to make cards in 2010 or a mull imlevel. >> but delinquencies are leveling off. >> commercial real estate for the country will get worse. when you talk about the mortgages for the homes, home mortgages, its been leveling off. >> nokia will be a feature and lower. the company did cut forecast for second half profitability and now sees flat market share. it's because a lot of movement from consumers to the low end.

. >>> so former treasury secretary henry paulson faced a group of angry lawmakers yesterday for the firsttime since leaving office. now they grilled him about last year's merger between bank of america and merrill lynch. so jennifer westhoven, who i don't agree with, but that's okay -- >> he admitted he pressured bank of america to not dump merrill lynch. at the height of the fp chal crisis they were very worried that could torpedo the national economy. >> by far the biggest advantage to the taxpayer is what didn't happen and that we did not have a collapse and we did not have double the number of foreclosures in ohio and double the level of -- >> oh, they're happening, mr. paulson. you ought to come and visit us in ohio and see the results of your handiwork. >> i know how terrible it is. i'm just telling you it could have been worse. >> if that's your best argument, it's not good enough. >> yeah. pauls paulson's idea is it could have been worse. it's hard to know. what does that mean, it's hard to be worse. they're saying this is a private deal. some are calling it unaccepta e unacceptab

steven friedman was a former goldman sachs partner and treasury secretary, henry paulson was chairmannd ceo of goldman sachs. a lot of alumni in prominent position. >>> a long day of questioning for sonya sotomayor on this second day of her confirmation hearing. she gave a more detailed explanation of her controversial remark saying that a wise latino woman might make better decisions than a white man. the first day of actual questioning of this nominee. >> reporter: almost six hours of questioning during this first day of q and a with the senators. you know, it really ranged from questions about her judicial philosophy and her temperament. democrats got to her on it before republicans could. >> for all these charges and counter charges, the wise lat tina and on and on. here is your chance? >> i want to stay up front unequivocally and without doubt. i do not believe that any ethnic, racial, or gender group has an advantage in sound judging. >> reporter: but judge sotomayor's denials of buy yas bias did little to reassure republicans. >> i am very concerned that what you are saying tod

when henry paulson was running a it was strategic economic dialogue. you wonder what difference it makes. the difference it makes is that secretary of state clinton is co-host thing on the u.s. side with treasury secretary geithner, kind of sharing the power. you can imagine there is some jostling over that issue. so we have two issues, geithner for treasury and clinton for state. otherwise, it is pretty much a continuation. host: allows them to broaden the agenda. guest: in the old days -- i mean undersecretariat paulson, but was north korea, iran, and other high-profile diplomatic issues. but not in a public way. it is clear all of those things are on the table. host: a number of newspapers are the slick covering this dialogue in washington. here is the front page of "the financial times." u.s. seeks close of china ties. writing while they praised china for lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty they also highlighted u.s. calls for the religious and culture of all peoples to be respected and protected. washington responded cautiously t

later today, live on c-span.org, former treasury secretary henry paulson testifies on the federal government's role in that merger. live at 10:00 am eastern. that'll be on c-span.org. today on the u.s. senate they'll continue work on the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill. senators expected to resume debate on a hate crimes amendment offered by senator patrick leahy of vermont. now live senate coverage on c-span2. the presiding officer: the senate will come to order. the chaplain will lead the senate in prayer. the chaplain: let us pray. o god, our refuge and strength, whose compassion encompasses humanity and whose mercy never fails, empower our senators to be partners with you in your redeeming purposes for this earth. remind them that the only greatness they will ever know is linked to your transforming might. as they strive to please you, make them seekers after peace, justice, and freedom. transform this storied chamber of our legislative branch into a place of vision, a lighthouse of hope, and a source of solace for those battered by the raging floods of life. may the members of

henry paulson testifies on the merger between bank of america and merrill lynch. after that, robert gates discusses security policy. >> taxpayer dollars. >> private donations. >> public support. >> your funded. >> private contributions. >> america's cable companies created c-span is a public service. a private business initiatives, no government mandate, no government money. >> we will talk with the detroit mayor about his economy. this is 35 minutes. mayor dave bing joining us live from detroit. he went 12 years in business and after problems of the last mayor, he comes to office with economic change. thank you for being with us today. guest: good being here. host: i am looking at the headlines of fed says jobless rate may hit 10.1%, what do you see in the high unemployment rate? guest:

we turn now to our witness, henry paulson. mr. paulson served as the secretary of the treasury from 2006-2009. he previously served as the chairman and c.e.o. of goldman sachs. we swear our witnesses and freed would you please stand and raise your right hand? do you solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? let the record reflect that he answered in the affirmative. you may be seated. mr. paulson, you may begin. >> ok. chairman, ranking members, and distinguished members of the committee, i served as secretary of the treasury from july 2006 to january 2009. during my tenure, the world experienced a financial crisis unprecedented in our lifetimes. the crisis presented a relentless series of novel challenges that required swift, innovative, and dramatic responses. had the crisis of 2008 and left to unfold without strong, federal reaction and intervention, the world of 2009 would look very different than the world we live in today. many more americans would be without their homes, their jobs, their

when henry paulson was running a it was strategic economic dialogue. you wonder what difference it makes. the difference it makes is that secretary of state clinton is co-host thing on the u.s. side with treasury secretary geithner, kind of sharing the power. you can imagine there is some jostling over that issue. so we have two issues, geithner for treasury and clinton for state. otherwise, it is pretty much a continuation. host: allows them to broaden the agenda. guest: in the old days -- i mean undersecretariat paulson, but was north korea, iran, and other high-profile diplomatic issues. but not in a public way. it is clear all of those things are on the table. host: a number of newspapers are the slick covering this dialogue in washington. here is the front page of "the financial times." u.s. seeks close of china ties. writing while they praised china for lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty they also highlighted u.s. calls for the religious and culture of all peoples to be respected and protected. washington responded cautiously t

. >> tomorrow on c-span, a house hearing with former treasury secretary henry paulson, testified aboutthe government's role of the bank of america merger with merrill lynch. a group of house republicans held a press conference to discuss the economy, jobs, and health care. they opposed the economic stimulus package earlier this year, this is about 20 minutes. >> we are here today to talk about all the things swirling around here and be very aggressive agenda that the administration is trying to push through this congress and on to the american people. from the very beginning of this congress, we have been focused on one thing. that is job creation. in fact, people across this country are continuing to wonder, where are the jobs? as we see, the ambitious agenda with one program after the other coming down the pike, the other question is, who is paying for all of what is trying to be pushed? i just walked out of the ways and means health care markup that is just beginning. it is extraordinary, the breadth of the bill that is being pushed through and the costs associated with it. ultimate