TIMOTHY GEITHNER

U.S. lawmakers on Wednesday challenged Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's credibility after he said he was not involved with AIG's decision to withhold details on $62 billion the bailed-out insurer paid to banks.

The S&P 500 recovered from a low of 1,083.11, downward spike that occurred minutes after the Federal Open Market Committee statement, to trade at 1,093.54, up 0.12 percent at 3:27 p.m. in New York.

A congressional panel, probing how money from the huge bailout of insurer American International Group Inc was spent, grilled Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday about his role.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 0.35 percent, the S&P 500 Index has fallen 0.27 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite Index slipped by 0.17 percent at 10:54 a.m. in New York as investors wait for answers from Washington.

Stock index futures pointed to a mixed opening on Wall Street on Wednesday, following declines in Europe and Asia, with some caution expected ahead of the Federal Reserve interest rate decision later in the day.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner denied any role in disclosures about American International Group's payments to banks and defended his decisions as New York Federal Reserve chief to pay full price to retire AIG credit default swaps.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank actively supported insurer American International Group's regulatory requests to keep its bank counterparties confidential but did not pressure the bailed-out firm for secrecy, the bank's top lawyer said on Tuesday.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank actively supported American International Group's regulatory requests for confidentiality on its bank counterparties but did not pressure the insurer for secrecy, according to the top lawyer of the New York Fed.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and ex-New York Fed Chairman Stephen Friedman will testify at a congressional hearing on bailed-out insurer AIG's payments to banks, a committee aide said on Tuesday.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and former New York Federal Reserve Chairman Stephen Friedman will testify at a congressional hearing into bailed-out insurer AIG's payments to banks on Wednesday, a committee aide said on Tuesday.

A U.S. bailout watchdog has launched two new investigations into the New York Federal Reserve Bank's actions on insurer AIG's disclosure of payments to banks after its 2008 rescue, excerpts of prepared congressional testimony showed on Monday.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said on Monday he saw growing support for some form of international levy on banks to fund support for the industry.

New York Federal Reserve officials debated in November 2008 whether the terms of the bailout of American International Group could be kept secret from the public and whether securities regulators would even permit it to do so, according to emails obtained by Reuters on Friday.

President Barack Obama threatened to fight Wall Street banks on Thursday with new proposals to limit financial risk taking, sending stocks and the dollar tumbling.

Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday launched a vigorous defense of their dealings with American International Group , calling for a congressional audit and denying any inappropriate action with respect to payments the bailed-out insurer made to banks.

U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday asked a government auditor to conduct a full review of the central bank's actions in bailing out insurer AIG, seeking to quell a controversy that risks undermining the Fed's authority.

The New York Federal Reserve Bank actively worked with bailed out insurer AIG to build a case against disclosing details of AIG's payments to banks just days after the insurer considered making them public, documents released late on Saturday showed.

Europe's leading economies showed no sign on Friday of adopting U.S. President Barack Obama's proposal for a levy on banks to repay taxpayers for bailouts but vowed to press on with their own ideas to target the sector. The president of the Eurogroup of euro zone finance ministers, Jean-Claude Juncker, said Obama was right to propose the plan, which foresees Wall Street banks paying up to $117 b...

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday the bailout of insurer American International Group was not meant to help out bank counterparties and that he had no role in the decision not to disclose payments made to banks.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will testify about insurer AIG's payments to banks after its 2008 bailout, a congressional panel said on Thursday, as another committee weighed into the matter.

The chairman of a U.S. congressional panel said he wants to see all of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's communications about the Federal Reserve's payouts to counterparties of insurer AIG Inc at 100 cents on the dollar after a government bailout.