Greenspan's Disclosure Form Mirrors 2003

By JEANNINE AVERSA, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, the nation's most powerful economic policy-maker, essentially treaded water in terms of his investment holdings in 2003, which were little changed from the previous year.

A financial disclosure form for Greenspan, released by the Federal Reserve Thursday, showed that the value of his assets last year totaled between $3 million and $6.4 million, nearly the same as in 2002. The figures need only be given in broad ranges.

As chief of the Fed, Greenspan has preferred to keep all of his holdings in money market accounts and Treasury securities, which are considered the world's safest investment, to avoid any appearance of conflict that might be raised by stock holdings in individual companies.

Greenspan, 78, recently began his fifth and final term as Fed chairman.

The disclosure form also showed that Greenspan's income from his no-frills investments, which also include savings and checking accounts, totaled between $43,226 and $102,300. That's down from the range of $55,000 to $139,000 that Greenspan reported in investment income in 2002.

Greenspan also was paid a $171,900 salary for being Fed chairman last year. His salary isn't included on the disclosure form.

The safer investments that Greenspan holds typically pay less interest than riskier investments. Over the last several years people holding money market, bank and savings accounts, have seen dismal returns because interest rates have been near rock-bottom.

Savers, however, will be getting a bit of relief now that short-term interest rates are going up. Greenspan and his colleagues on Wednesday boosted a key interest rate to 1.25 percent, from a 46-year-low of 1 percent, its first rate increase in four years.

The Fed kept rates at super-low levels to help get the economy back in shape. Now that the economy is on a solid growth path, rates can go up to ward off inflation, which has been looming more prominently of late. Changes in the key rate the Fed controls affect interest rates to consumers.

In the gifts section of his disclosure form, Greenspan listed travel in a private plane to go to New York City in late May of last year. That roundtrip plane travel, valued at $800, was listed as a gift from World Bank President James Wolfensohn. Greenspan traveled to New York to attend the wedding of Wolfensohn's son.

Greenspan's wife, NBC News correspondent Andrea Mitchell, had separate investment holdings valued at between $1.3 million and nearly $3 million in 2003. Those assets generated income of between $15,715 and $48,500 last year.

Mitchell's holdings include stock in Abbott Laboratories, Anheuser Busch Companies, H.J. Heinz, Kimberly Clark and Del Monte Foods.

Mitchell also was paid thousands of dollars in honoraria last year. Those payments included $10,000 honoraria from the Dallas Jewish Federation, $15,000 from Rush Presbyterian Hospital and $20,000 from the Columbus Literacy Council.

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