What You Need to Know: 03.03.09

Obama Touts Investing With 'Long-Term Perspective'
"President Obama, seeking to boost public confidence in his economic recovery plan and U.S. markets, suggested today that now is a good time for investors with "a long-term perspective" to buy stocks, and he vowed that the nation's financial mess "is going to get cleaned up."

Speaking to reporters after an Oval Office meeting with visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Obama said he has no doubt that his plan to rescue the U.S. economy will work. Among the topics he discussed with Brown, he said, were efforts to coordinate economic stimulus plans with other members of the Group of 20, an organization of major world economies that is holding a summit meeting in London next month."

Fed Chief Says Insurance Giant Acted Irresponsibly
"The Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, told lawmakers on Tuesday that the country faces “a prolonged episode of economic stagnation” if they do not address the economic crisis forcefully, but he quickly encountered deep anger, particularly over the dealings of the ailing American International Group.

Mr. Bernanke told the Senate Budget Committee that the worst outlook, should action on the crisis prove inadequate, would be “further deterioration in the fiscal situation” and probably “lower output, employment and incomes for an extended period.”"

Obama shelves Bush-era species rule
"President Barack Obama on Tuesday shelved a Bush-era rule that critics say weakened protections for animals and plants protected by the Endangered Species Act.

"We should be looking for ways to improve it, not weaken it," Obama said of the Endangered Species Act. He spoke at an Interior Department ceremony to mark the department's 160th anniversary."

Memos Reveal Scope of Power Bush Sought in Fighting Terror
"The secret legal opinions issued by Bush administration lawyers after the Sept. 11 attacks included assertions that the president could use the nation’s military within the United States to combat terrorism suspects and to conduct raids without obtaining search warrants.

That opinion was among nine that were disclosed publicly for the first time Monday by the Justice Department, in what the Obama administration portrayed as a step toward greater transparency."