US Treasury gives more power to the Fed

WASHINGTON, DC - Although the Blueprint for Regulatory Reform published by the US Treasury in March has, for the most part, been shrugged off as an academic exercise by an outgoing administration, the latest in a series of emergency powers granted to the Federal Reserve Board appears to be pushing in a similar direction. In a move to help boost confidence in beleaguered mortgage financers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the US Treasury has extended lines of credit to the government-sponsored