NPR 2009-03-13

Disgraced New York money manager Bernard Madoff has pleaded guilty to all 11 criminal charges related to a massive Wall Street Ponzi scheme he had masterminded over the past two decades. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston reports from New York.

Madoff told a Manhattan courtroom this morning that he felt compelled to meet investor 1 expectations in the 1990s so he built a giant Ponzi scheme to do so. He told clients that he was investing in a basket of stocks and said he could guarantee steady returns. In fact, he used his clients' money to cover any redemptions and support his lavish 2 lifestyle. The criminal counts against him include securities fraud, wire fraud and money laundering 3. The judge ended testimony 4 after just a handful of investors 5 told Madoff directly what his scheme had brought, and then summarily, the judge said that Madoff would be awaiting his sentencing from behind bars. His sentencing is scheduled for June 16, and he faces up to 150 years in prison. Dina Temple-Raston, NPR News, New York.

President Obama today said despite the current state of the global economy, now is not the time to embark 6 on protectionist actions. The president told a group of business leaders in Washington today there's been some movement toward containing such sentiment, though he said it's important that countries don't fall back on such measures. Mr. Obama also said today he'll be willing to consider lowering the corporate 7 tax rate if the business community does its part to help close loopholes in the tax code. Mr. Obama was speaking today before the Business Roundtable, a group of corporate CEOs.

General Electric had its credit rating downgraded today by a major ratings agency. The firm has been struggling amid the nation's financial crisis. NPR's Chris Arnold has that story.

The downgrade from so-called AAA to AA wasn't as bad as some investors feared, so GE stock rose on the news. General Electric is one of the most iconic and venerable corporations in the history of the country. It makes everything from dishwashers to jet engines to oil and natural gas pumping equipment. But GE made a lot of its money through its GE Capital division, and that's become an albatross dragging the rest of the firm down. Investors are nervous that GE could suffer massive losses like so many other financial firms. The stock has fallen about 70% since last spring. The company has downplayed concerns. GE forecasts that it will be profitable throughout 2009. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

More signs the weak economy continues to put people out of work: the government said today first time jobless claims last week rose to 654, 000, while the number of individuals who've received unemployment benefits for more than a week hit 5.3 million. That's the highest level since 1967 when the government first began keeping track.

On Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up over 239 points to end the session at 7, 170. The NASDAQ was up 54 points today. The S&P gained 29 points.

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A close call for the crew aboard the International Space Station who for a brief period today had to evacuate 8 using a Russian escape capsule. The three astronauts aboard the space station were ordered off amid fears a piece of space debris 9 could potentially strike the station though that did not happen. NASA says the small piece of space junk was from an old spacecraft motor that was passing within three miles of the station and could have caused a loss of air pressure had it made a direct hit. There're currently two Americans and one Russian aboard the space station.

FBI agents raided a local government office in Washington, D. C. and arrested two people today. The head of the office recently left for a job at the White House. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

FBI agents showed up Thursday morning at the office of Washington DC's chief technology officer. A woman named Vivek Kundra held that post until recently. Last week President Obama appointed Kundra to a job overseeing technology for the federal government. She'll coordinate 10 security and communications across government computer systems. A spokeswoman for D. C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said Kundra is not the target of the FBI's investigation 11. The White House would not comment on the raid, but spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration was notified before it took place. Agents arrested two men, Yusuf Acar and Sushil Bansal. Acar is an employee of Washington's technology office. Bansal used to work for the D. C. government. Now he works for a technology firm that has won contracts from the office that was raided. The charges against the men remain under seal. Ari Shapiro, NPR News, Washington.

Mortgage rates came down slightly this week amid concerns over the weak job market and worries about possible inflation. Mortgage giant Freddie Mac says the average rate for 30-year fixed 12 rate loan is now just above 5%, falling from 5.15% of the previous week.