Recovery

Geithner's a Confident Man

Treasury Sec. optimistic financial bill will pass.

Place your bets, folks. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner believes the financial regulatory bill will pass despite it not being a perfect fit for all parties. “I believe that we are very close on this,” said Geithner on today’s Meet the Press. The bill aims to tighten oversight of large financial firms and banks after, in 2008, the financial crisis put taxpayers at risk when the government decided to perform a bailout. There are still points of contention. President Barack Obama said he would veto any bill lacking strong controls over markets for derivatives, which are “financial instruments that derive their value from the price of some underlying instrument or event.” Bill or no bill, Geithner is optimistic about the economy, saying he believes it has reached a point of recovery where sustained job growth can be expected. Still, other problems, such as high unemployment rates, housing market problems, and a recent fraud charge against Goldman Sachs keep the economy in limbo.