Federal Reserve

Reporters at the WSJ have uncovered something very intriguing while they were combing through the billing records of Jenner and Block, whose chairman, Anton Valukas is currently moonlighting as the examiner of the Lehman Bankruptcy Case. In J&B's August fee statement, the firm discloses information that as part of its estate recoupment process, it has been contemplating suing none other than the Federal Reserve.

Total Federal Reserve balance sheet assets for the week of September 23 of $2,139 billion ($6.4 billion higher compared to the prior week's $2,133 bn), now just $35 billion shy of the all time high of $2,174 billion recorded on April 22.

Alan Grayson doing his immaculate Jaws impression here. And the man is definitely smelling a wounded and bleeding Fed. Must watch clip.

Grayson to Fed General Counsel Scott Alvarez: "Do you mind if we have a GAO audit to see if there has been front-running or insider trading by [Fed Primary Dealer JP Morgan]? Do you mind? Is that ok with you?"

Total Federal Reserve balance sheet assets for the week of September 23 of $2,133 billion ($44.5 billion higher compared to the prior week's $2,088 bn), and this time just $41 billion shy of the all time high of $2,174 billion recorded on April 22

The degree of intermediation by the Federal Reserve in the issuance of US Treasuries hit a record in Q2, accounting for just under 50% of all net UST issuance absorption. This is a startling number, as the Fed's $164 billion in Q2 Treasury purchasesdwarfs the combined foreign/household UST purchases of $101 billion and $29 billion, respectively, over the same time period. In fact, the Fed was a greater factor in UST demand than all three traditional players combined: Foreigners, Households and Primary Dealers, which amounted to a $158 billion in net Q2 purchases.

The Fed now has $15 billion in purchasing power left under the Treasury component of QE. Of the $1,250 billion in MBS projected to be bought by the end of the year, the Fed was already purchased $840 billion, leaving $410 billion in budgeted purchases over the next three and a half months: about $125 billion per month.

Total Federal Reserve balance sheet assets for the week of September 16 of $2,101 billion ($30.7 billion higher compared to the prior week's $2,071 bn), just $73 billion shy of the all time high of $2,174 billion recorded on April 22.

Rep. Alan Grayson announces there will be a hearing in late September on the bill to audit the Federal Reserve.

"[The Fed] is bigger than the Congress, [it] has more power than the Congress. The Fed Chairman probably is more powerful than our president, and yet we refuse to look at it. The time has come for us to look at the Fed" - Ron Paul

• Securities held outright: $1,501 billion
  (an increase of $128.7 billion MoM, resulting from $32.6 billion in new
  Treasury purchases, $82.4 billion increase in MBS and $13.7 billion in Agency Debt), or $10.7 billion increase sequentially
• Net borrowings: $320.3 billion, a decline of $5 billion compared to two weeks prior
• Float, liquidity swaps, Maiden Lane and other assets: $248.9 billion, an $2 billion decrease on ongoing $1 billion reduction in CPFF (an issue discussed repeatedly by Zero Hedge) while liquidity swaps, after bottoming out recently and gradually reversing, have again declined by $2 billion sequentially.

Total Federal Reserve balance sheet assets for the week of September 2 of $2,070 billion

Judge Loretta Preska, who earlier this week ruled against the Fed in its long running FOIA lawsuit with Bloomberg, and demanded it disclose firms benefiting from and loan amounts handed out under various emergency order, has filed a stay on the original order and has awarded the Fed with a September 30 deadline to appeal the order.

Total Federal Reserve balance sheet assets for the week of August 26 of $2,049 billion

August 24, 2009 will undoubtedly go down as a day of celebration at Zero Hedge as the thus-far bullet proof Federal Reserve was ordered to produce documents improperly withheld from Bloomberg reporters Mark Pittman and Craig Torres.