INSTANT VIEW Geithner to be tapped for Treasury Sec: NBC
NEW YORK (Reuters) - - Timothy Geithner, the president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, is expected to be nominated to the post of U.S. Treasury secretary in the administration of President-elect Barack Obama, NBC News reported on Friday.
KEY POINTS: * NBC said Obama was expected to announce his economic team on Monday in an effort to calm markets. * Geithner was considered a top prospect along with former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers for the Treasury post
COMMENTS:
WILLIAM O'DONNELL, HEAD, U.S. INTEREST RATE STRATEGY, UBS
SECURITIES LLC, STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT:
"I think it is a brilliant pick, for no other reason than that it creates continuity in the middle of one of the greatest crises to ever face this country. He has been intimately involved in the dealings at hand, he has been in close deliberation in talks between Treasury and the Fed and therefore is well vetted and already in the middle of it. That creates continuity that all taxpayers should be relieved about. You would hate to have somebody step into this mess after not having seen it before."
KIM RUPERT, MANAGING DIRECTOR, GLOBAL FIXED INCOME ANALYSIS,
ACTION ECONOMICS LLC, SAN FRANCISCO:
"It looks like the markets are welcoming the news that Geithner will be nominated as Treasury secretary. It's not a total surprise. He's been one of the main officials who we thought were in the running, but it looks like the markets see him as someone who will bring stability. At least the markets have a lot of confidence in him it looks like by the run up in prices in equities. So they are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt right now even though he has been very instrumental in the rescue packages so far. He's not suffering from any of the taint that Paulson has been."
MICHAEL WOOLFOLK, SENIOR CURRENCY STRATEGIST, THE BANK OF NEW
YORK-MELLON, NEW YORK:
"Positive for the dollar. The professional financial community in New York would clearly support this nomination. Mr Geithner is a credible policy maker who is up for the challenges that will present themselves to the new administration."
JAY MUELLER, ECONOMIST, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, STRONG CAPITAL
MANAGEMENT INC. WISCONSIN:
"It's probably a fairly safe pick in the sense that it's somebody the market is familiar with, but beyond that we'll have to wait and see. The markets will want to hear reassurance that he knows how to handle the situation, that he's not anti-investor.
"I think some helpful things would be to make some assurances that they're not going to be over-regulating and raising taxes. We're in the middle of a situation where nobody knows what the tax treatment of investment will be. My suggestion will be to come out and say cap gains tax and dividends tax will be left alone until we get out of this current difficulty. We'll improve regulation, but that doesn't necessarily mean harsher regulation or more intrusive regulation. That's what I would like to hear."
TOM SOWANICK, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, CLEARBROOK FINANCIAL
LLC, PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY:
"This is an excellent choice. He knows where all the bones are buried on Wall Street. He is also much smarter than Paulson and is extremely articulate."
MARKET REACTION: STOCKS: U.S. equity indexes turn higher after NBC report. BONDS: Treasury debt prices add to gains. DOLLAR: U.S. dollar at session high versus yen.
