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KRT Wire I 04/22/2003 I Bu h backs another term for Green pan Search News Kansas City Wichita Topeka + + +4 > > Nation Posted on Tue, Apr. 22, 2003 Bush backs another term for Greenspan WASHINGTON -President Bush gave a vote of confidence Tuesday to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, dampening but not ending speculation that Greenspan will be replaced when his term expires next year. "I think Alan Greenspan should get another term," Bush said in an interview with business reporters, according to the White House. It remains unclear how long Greenspan wants to stay on. He turned 77 last month and underwent successful surgery for an enlarged prostate Tuesday . His current four-year term as chairman expires June 20, 2004. If his health holds, some analysts expect him to remain at least through the presidential election In November 2004, then step down in 2005 or early 2006. Bush isn't likely to want either the Fed chairmanship or Greenspan to become an issue in the midst of a presidential election campaign in which the economy figures to be a major issue. But Bush's statement Tuesday doesn't signal any decision on Greenspan's future, analysts said . "I think clearly Greenspan and Bush have yet to have the conversation in terms of Greenspan being In another term, " said John Silvia, chief economist for Wachovia Securities in Charlotte, N.C. "Greenspan's going to have to make a decision at some point about what he wants to do and how he wants to proceed," he said. http://www.kan a city .com/mld/kan ascity/news/nation/5691476.htm Page 1of3 Updated T 22,2003 11 07 P1 PM ED PM EDT PM EDT 4/22/2003 KRT Wire I 04/22/2003 I Bush backs another tenn for Greenspan Still, Bush's comment helped boost stocks Tuesday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 156.09 points to 8,484.99. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index finished up 26.99 at 1,451.36. Speculation that Greenspan might be on the way out flared in February after he upset conservatives by telling Congress he didn't think the economy needed Bush's proposed tax cut. Conservative columnist Robert Novak reported that presidential advisers were so angry "that they are willing to consider not reappointing Greenspan." But administration officials continued to support Greenspan publicly, and he visited the White House at least three times toward the end of March, once for a private session with Bush. Bush's backing Tuesday for another term for Greenspan affirmed that support. Greenspan commands such respect as the steward of the U.S. economy that replacing him against his will would be very costly politically. "The president really had no choice but to say what he said," said Sung Won Sohn, the Minneapolis-based chief economist for Wells Fargo bank. Sohn thinks Greenspan might step down next year anyway, because of both his age and the criticism directed at him from conservatives, who hold some sway in the Bush White House. "He's got a good political antenna," Sohn said. "He understands what's going on. The fact of the matter is many people in Washington would like to see him move on." Though his term as chairman expires next year, Greenspan has a separate 14-year term as a member of the Fed that ends Jan. 31, 2006. He could agree to stay as chairman until then. Greenspan, In his 16th year as Fed chairman, shows few if any signs of aging. He was to remain hospitalized overnight, and expected to be back at work later this week, the Fed said in a statement. "If you're around Greenspan, you cannot but be astounded by his mental acuity," said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed governor and a consultant to the Schwab Washington Research Group. "His mind is not that of a 77-year-old man. It Is of a 27-year-old man." http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/5691476.htm Page2 of3 Ca Conso Histom ~le Stocks Enter symbc PHOTOS C 4/22/2003 

Bush Backs Another Term for Greenspan

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Bush Backs Another Term for Greenspan

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