Volcker Questions Fed's Legal Authority To Bail Out Bear

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April 8 (Bloomberg) -- Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker questioned the central bank's decision to rescue Bear Stearns Cos. with a $29 billion loan, saying it was at "the very edge'' of its legal authority.

"The Federal Reserve has judged it necessary to take actions that extend to the very edge of its lawful and implied powers, transcending in the process certain long-embedded central banking principles and practices,'' Volcker said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York.

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