David Ellis
CNNMoney.com staff writer

Loudmouth CEOs, islands in the desert and bringing dead celebrities back to life. Our annual list of the business world's bonehead plays marches on.

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For all the complex financial products they can dream up, simple common sense still seems to elude the bright minds of Wall Street. Or at least, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein.

Hoping to shore up his firm's battered image, he spearheaded an all-out public relations campaign this fall, touting his company's important role in building economies and helping everyday workers prosper.

Last month, however, he got a bit carried away, telling a Times of London reporter that he was just a banker "doing God's work." For $43 million a year.

Keep reading...

Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

The Obama Administration is expected to slash the estimated cost of the Troubled Asset Relief Program by $200 billion, effectively paving the way for a massive federal jobs program.

The latest projection, which will be officially unveiled by the White House this week, would cut TARP's price tag by $200 billion to $141 billion, according to a Treasury Department official.

And officials tell CNN that President Obama will recommend using the $200 billion to fund a series of projects - including building bridges and roads and weatherizing homes, as well as providing further aid to the unemployed and to small businesses. That’s expected to come in a speech on Tuesday.

Such a move is certain to draw fire from Republican lawmakers, who have railed against using any leftover bailout funds or money that has been paid back by banks for any new projects.

Many have not only proposed shutting down the program altogether, but argued that any unallocated TARP funds should go toward cutting the nation's bloated deficit. The Treasury Dept. currently estimates that the annual deficit for fiscal year 2010 will hit a record $1.5 trillion.

Also on the bailout front, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke says he's confident the central bank will make money on the trillions of dollars it’s pumped into the economy since the start of 2008.

“I think we're in very good shape,” Bernanke said, answering questions following a speech at the Economic Club of Washington. “I do believe we're going to get back all the money, and indeed we'll be showing for the taxpayers fairly significant extra income.”

But most of Bernanke's speech was focused on the outlook for the economy, and he repeated his earlier forecasts of moderate growth through next year, dogged by continued high unemployment.

He said the economy continues to face “formidable headwinds” that are likely to result in only a moderate recovery.

Stocks kicked off the new week with a choppy session - driven by a strong dollar, falling oil and gold prices and those comments from Bernanke that cooled worries about higher interest rates.

At the close of trading, the Dow gained just a single point to close at 10,390.11. The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 both ended fractionally lower.

The week ahead brings a modest array of economic reports. Highlights include readings on retail sales, weekly jobless claims, consumer sentiment and the trade gap.

Finally, the new “must-have” accessory in your wallet or purse next season might be your pay stub.

The Federal Reserve is proposing new rules that would make it harder for retailers to offer you a credit card at the cash register by dangling a discount.

You know the drill: get 20% off or no interest payments for 18 months if you apply for a store’s credit card on the spot.

The new restrictions would make retailers collect more detailed financial information from customers - including how much money you make - before giving your so-called “instant credit.”

But the National Retail Federation is pushing back, and is asking the Fed to reconsider the proposed rules. The NRF says the current practices are quote, “safe, valued and desired by both retailers and customers.”

Many retailers have actually sold off their credit card units to banks in recent years, but still use the cards to track spending habits and reward customer loyalty.

For its part, the Fed wants the new, tougher rules to protect consumers from being lured into taking on debt they ultimately can't afford to pay off. After all, we know where that got us, don’t we?

Follow the money… on Twitter: @AndrewTorganCNN

Anderson Cooper | BIO
AC360° Anchor

Obama's Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg is in charge of reviewing pay plans at biggest bailout firms.

David Ellis
CNNMoney.com

The Obama administration will soon order the nation's biggest bailed-out companies to drastically cut pay packages for their top executives, a senior administration official confirmed to CNN Wednesday.

Kenneth Feinberg, who was named the White House's pay czar in June, will demand that the seven largest bailout recipients lower the total compensation for their top 25 highest paid employees by 50%, on average, the official told CNN.

For the past two months, Feinberg has been reviewing pay plans at Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), General Motors, Chrysler, GMAC and Chrysler Financial in an effort to put these firms in a position to pay back bailout money as soon as possible.

Keep reading

Editor's Note: Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program Neil Barofsky originally delivered this report to the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Read the full report.

AC360°

Neil Barofsky has been referred to as the "TARP Watchdog" since appointed the position in December. Presenting this report to the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Barofsky reveals a detailed account of just how AIG structured their complex system of compensation and bonus plans. From a $7,800 "retention award" to a kitchen assistant to more than $3 million to an executive, the company rewarded an extensive amount of bonuses even after it's taxpayer funded bailout in 2008. But why didn't the government step in? Read the full report and see a timeline of when both government officials and company executives knew of key AIG Compensation Matters.

Editor's Note: This featured report entitled "No Rhyme or Reason: The 'Heads I Win, Tails You Lose' Bank Bonus Culture" was originally prepared by New York State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo.

AC360°

Tonight we're taking a look at the culture of bonuses on Wall Street. This year, the U.S. financial sector is on track to dole out a record amount in bonuses. We are taking a close look at nine of the original TARP recipients, including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Merrill Lynch, and Bank of America. These financial giants were among the first recipients of assistance from the original TARP Package.

New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo released a report updating just how the companies distributed their earnings. This report breaks down where all the money went with the specific amounts of salaries, bonuses and government money (i.e. your tax dollars) for each firm.

Check out the full report here.

David Goldman
CNN

The government is engaged in a far-reaching – and expensive – effort to rescue the economy. Click here to keep tabs on the bailouts.

CNNMoney.com

CNNMoney.com is tracking developments in the economic rescue as they happen. Find out how much money the government is putting on the line.

Click here to follow the money...

Program Note: Tune in tonight to hear more about a potential second stimulus from Ed Henry and Ali Velshi. AC360° at 10 p.m. ET.

CNNMoney.com

The government is engaged in a far-reaching – and expensive – effort to rescue the economy. Here's how you can keep tabs on the bailouts. Take a look at these stimulus programs designed to save or create jobs and jumpstart the economy from recession.

Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, shown here in 2008

Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

One year after the Troubled Asset Relief Program was signed into law, the TARP’s top cop says federal officials weren't entirely honest with the public about the health of the first nine financial firms that got bailouts.

Bailout Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky says in an audit that Treasury Dept. officials painted an overly rosy picture, creating “unrealistic expectations,” when they called the first bailout banks “healthy” institutions that would be able to lend more with government help.

Separately, the new audit looks into charges that government officials strong-armed Bank of America into completing its planned purchase of Merrill Lynch, even as BofA worried about mounting losses at Merrill in late 2008. Further, the report looks into whether officials pressured BofA to conceal those losses from shareholders.

Barofsky's office was created by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which established the $700 billion federal bailout program. This audit is the fourth completed so far by the watchdog in recent months, but the first that looked at how banks said they used their bailout dollars.

Greenspan says unemployment will top 10%

Former Fed Chief Alan Greenspan over the weekend joined the chorus of politicians and pundits who say unemployment will top 10%, even though he believes the U.S. economy will grow more than expected in the third quarter.

Greenspan told ABC’s “This Week” that he expects 3% growth in the third quarter, up from the 2.5% he previously predicted. However, he said that the “pretty awful” September employment report released Friday showed the jobless rate continued to climb.

A slowing or halt in job losses is different than reversing the rise in unemployment, Greenspan noted, adding that the nation's unemployment rate - currently 9.8% - is “going to penetrate the 10% barrier before heading down.”

That prediction matches previous comments by President Barack Obama and others who say that unemployment is a lagging indicator in an economic recovery.

“Gourmet” gone… “Cookie” crumbles…

“Gourmet” magazine, which has amassed a devoted following over nearly 70 years of publication, will be shut down, publisher Condé Nast said.

The magazine, introduced in 1940, is expected to close by the end of the year.

“Gourmet,” which has nearly 1 million subscribers, fell victim to a decline in magazine advertising and followed a companywide review of magazines. 

In addition to “Gourmet,” Condé Nast said it was also shuttering parenting magazine “Cookie” and two wedding magazines, “Elegant Bride” and “Modern Bride.”

Follow the money… on Twitter: @AndrewTorganCNN

CNN

The government has spent at least $3 trillion to fix the economy, although that includes loans and investments that might one day be recouped. It has allocated, or set aside, at least $10.6 trillion to spend if needed. Where is all of this money going?

Take a look at this interactive that tracks the bailout money.

David Goldman
CNNMoney.com Staff Writer

The collapse of Lehman led to a deeper recession and a litany of government programs to try to end the pain. We rate just how bold and effective the plans have been so far.

White House pay czar Kenneth Feinberg.

David Ellis
CNNMoney.com

Just how much is a rainmaker at a bailed-out bank really worth? Or a senior executive at a recently bankrupt automaker for that matter?

Such questions will soon be a subject of discussion at the White House as the biggest recipients of government aid begin submitting compensation plans for their top 100 employees to the Obama administration's recently appointed pay czar.

Seven companies - AIG (AIG, Fortune 500), Chrysler, Citigroup (C, Fortune 500), Chrysler Financial, Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), General Motors and GMAC - are due to submit proposed employment contracts for their 25 highest-paid employees Friday. Compensation proposals for the next 75 most compensated employees are due by Oct. 13.

Kenneth Feinberg, the man charged with handling the task, is expected to rule on the first set of pay plans within the next 60 days. That information is due to be made public by Treasury sometime after, although any announcement may not include details of pay packages for individual employees.

Keep reading...

Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

Even though the government won’t publicly reveal the results of the bank “stress tests” until Thursday, numerous leaks are painting a troubling picture for some of the nation’s largest financial institutions.

According to several reports, regulators have determined that Bank of America may need roughly $34 billion in capital to weather a more painful economic environment. A company spokesman declined to comment.

Bank of America has received extensive assistance from the government to date, taking in $45 billion in taxpayer funds. A potential capital shortfall of this magnitude is certain to increase the pressure on CEO Ken Lewis, whom shareholders ousted as chairman of the bank last week.

Reports out Tuesday indicated that the government will direct more than half of the 19 banks that underwent the tests to boost their capital reserves, a move that officials hope will quell fears about the solvency of the financial sector.

New signs of life in the job market

The pace of job losses may be slowing, according to two private reports released this morning.

Payroll-processing firm Automatic Data Processing said private-sector employment decreased by 491,000 in April, a 31% improvement from the revised 708,000 drop in March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected a loss of 643,000 jobs last month.

Separately, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that the number of layoffs announced in April fell for the third straight month.

Job cut announcements by employers totaled 132,590 in April, an improvement of 12% from March's 150,411 cuts. It was the lowest total since last October, according to Challenger, but the April figure was still 47% higher than job cuts announced in the same month a year ago.

The government will release its close-watched monthly employment report on Friday. Current estimates are for a loss of more than 600,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate is forecast to jump to 8.9%.

Chrysler won't repay bailout money

Chrysler will not repay U.S. taxpayers more than $7 billion in bailout money it received earlier this year and as part of its bankruptcy filing.

This revelation - buried within Chrysler's bankruptcy filings last week - was confirmed by the White House Tuesday. The filings included a list of business assumptions from one of the company's key financial advisors in the bankruptcy case.

Some of the assumptions listed were that the Treasury Dept. would forgive a $4 billion bridge loan given to Chrysler in the closing days of the Bush administration, a $300 million fee on that loan, and the $3.2 billion in financing approved last week by the Obama Administration to fund Chrysler's operations during bankruptcy.

An administration official confirmed that Chrysler won't be repaying the loans, though a portion of the bridge loan may be recovered by Treasury from the assets of Chrysler Financial, the former credit arm of the automaker, which is essentially going out of business as part of the reorganization.

Twenty percent of homeowners ‘underwater’

More than 20% of American homeowners owe more on their mortgage debt than they can sell their homes for, according to an industry report released today.

Real estate Web site Zillow.com reported that 21.8% of all homes, representing more than 16 million residences, were in a "negative equity" or "underwater" position after prices dropped more than 14% nationally in the year ended March 31.

Hardest-hit markets include Las Vegas - where a whopping 67.2% of homeowners would have to bring cash to the table if they sold their homes - and Stockton, Calif., where 51.1% of homes are underwater.

Millionaires don't feel so rich: survey

Finally, who wants to be a millionaire when nearly half of them don't even feel rich?

Of the 1,012 participants in an annual Fidelity Investments study, 46% said they "do not feel wealthy and are taking action to reassess and rebuild their wealth."

That's a big change from last year, when only 19% said they didn't feel rich. Fidelity blamed the drop on the corresponding plunge in wealth, with an average 19% reduction in household income and inevitable assets, and a 28% plunge in real estate holdings.

Fidelity described the average respondent as having $3.5 million in assets and $306,000 in annual household income.

Andrew Torgan
CNN Financial News Producer

More troubling news on the unemployment front today... the number of Americans filing initial claims for jobless benefits increased last week while the number of people continuing to claim benefits set yet another record high.

First-time claims for unemployment insurance rose by 27,000 to 640,000 from the previous week revised figure of 613,000. And the number of people receiving benefits for one week or more rose by 93,000 to 6,137,000 million. That’s the highest number on records dating back to 1967.

Earlier this month, the government reported that 2 million jobs have been lost since the beginning of 2009 through March, bringing the nation's unemployment rate to the 25-year high of 8.5%.

Home sales drop in March

Sales of previously-owned homes fell in March but analysts say the housing market is showing signs of stabilization.

The National Association of Realtors said that so-called “existing home sales” fell last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million units, 3% lower than the downwardly revised rate of 4.71 million in February.

March sales were down 7.1% year over year, and came in weaker than the 4.65 million rate forecast by analysts surveyed by Briefing.com.

But despite last month's decline, economists say existing home sales appear to be stabilizing. Single family home sales, which are considered the core of the market, fell at a 10% annualized rate in the first quarter of 2009, after a 17.4% drop in the last three months of 2008.

GM plans extended shutdown

General Motors says it plans extended shutdowns at 13 of its 20 assembly plants in North America this summer to combat slumping auto sales. Corresponding down weeks are also scheduled at GM's stamping and powertrain facilities

GM typically closes its facilities for two weeks in July to change production lines for new models. Much like over the winter holidays, the automaker plans to extend that scheduled shutdown to help bring down the growing stockpile of unsold cars and trucks.

Under the plan, GM says approximately 190,000 vehicles will be removed from its North American production schedule in the second and early third quarter of this year.

Earnings parade continues on Wall Street

Delivery giant UPS - considered a barometer for the overall economy - says profits fell 56% in the first quarter and projected earnings below Wall Street’s expectations for the current quarter due to the weak economy.

UPS’ Chief Financial Officer said an economic recovery might begin late this year but more likely wouldn't start until next year.

And after Wednesday’s closing bell, Apple said that a surge in iPhone sales helped offset a decline in Mac computer sales as the company reported quarterly profit and revenue that thrashed Wall Street forecasts.

Apple reported a 15% jump in net income to $1.21 billion. Meanwhile, iPhone sales more than doubled, boosting the company's overall revenue, which rose nearly 9% to $8.2 billion.

President takes up credit card battle

Ramping up his campaign to crack down on credit cards, President Obama will meet today with executives of 14 leading companies to press his case for new consumer protections.

The White House meeting comes a day after credit card legislation opposed by the financial services industry moved forward on Capitol Hill. The House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday voted 48-19 to approve a bill to clamp down on rates and fees.

The House bill would, among other things, ban "arbitrary" interest rate increases, prohibit excessive fees and order more disclosure. It could go to the full House for a vote as soon as next week.

Dire straits for state budgets

Even as they await billions in federal stimulus funds, states are racing to close a combined $95 billion budget hole in the coming weeks.

Hammered by plummeting tax revenues caused by the worst recession in decades, state lawmakers have already slashed spending and raised fees to close a combined shortfall that exceeded $100 billion this fiscal year, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported.

But states must still eliminate a $27.6 billion hole before their fiscal year ends, which for the vast majority of them is June 30. State law requires they maintain balanced budgets.

On top of that, they must slash $67.5 billion from their fiscal year 2010 budgets before July 1.

To do this, states have made widespread cuts in funding for education, social services, health care and public safety. The measures have resulted in teachers and police officers losing their jobs, the poor and elderly losing their benefits and public colleges losing their state aid.

Bailout cop calls for more disclosure

Neil Barofsky, the official overseeing the Troubled Asset Relief Program, says the Treasury Department must make public more information about how banks and other companies are spending money received under the $700 billion bailout.

Barofsky, who testified before the Joint Economic Committee today about a 250-page report he issued earlier this week detailing his concerns about the government's management of the TARP, says his top concern is that the Treasury continues to ignore his suggestion that bailout recipients state exactly how they're using their money.

Program Note: Tune in to the CNN Money Summit on Friday at 11 p.m ET to hear Ryan Mack and others weigh in on the economy.

Ryan Mack
President of Optimum Capital Management
AC360° Contributor

Somewhere in Detroit, right now, there is a union worker sweating as he helps to produce cars for this country on the assembly line. He thought that his contract with the UAW was set in stone but, unfortunately, to his dismay it was renegotiated and he has just found out that his salary was cut in order to keep his job. As well, he is now overly concerned that his health care will be reduced when he retires and his retirement will not be fully funded. All around him he hears horror stories of those who retired without the promised full pension and he sees the numbers of workers around him decrease every month by the dreaded pink slip.

The market falters because of the failure of the banking system, and the government calls upon this worker for help. Bush, Paulson, Bernanke, and other members of the government explain to this worker that if the banks fail he will be negatively impacted. This same story is repeated by Obama, Geithner, Bernanke, and other government officials. This worker is a little reluctant at first but he eventually gets the bigger picture. He understands how the system works so he reaches into his pocket with his calloused hand and pulls out some of hard earned capital to give to the banks to support the system.

Soon after, on his way to work at 4:30 am, getting prepared to do a double shift, he picks up a cup-a-joe and a newspaper with a headline that grabs his attention. Headline: “AIG Gives $165 million in Bonuses!” He doesn’t really follow the news that closely but thinks to himself, “I wonder if they used my hard earned money to bail out AIG as well?”

When he gets to work, in the locker room, many of the co-workers are talking about the same story. They ask him, “Do you see that we bailed out THOSE GUYS only to help them get their million dollar bonuses!?”

Shocked at this injustice, the worker sits down to consume what he has heard. He begins to think of the numerous times the media called people “losers” who bought houses without proper information and how he has close friends who are in that exact situation- foreclosure. He thinks about how the president of his company was demonized for flying to Washington D.C. on a private plane and didn’t get any support…but those on Wall Street flew to Washington D.C. on the same private plane and were allowed to have $2 million carnivals, $1.5 million offices, $400 thousand weekend getaways, $50 million proposed planes, and millions of dollars to put their name on the side of a stadium. Their penalty for the most part was that they were given MORE of his money just to give out heavy bonuses!

He thinks about how he is fighting so hard just to keep his job and they are fighting to keep their bonuses. Feeling like the odds are stacked against him doubt enters his mind and he starts to question why does he get up so early if he is only going to get fired? He feels as if this country was designed for the rich to get richer, the middle class to shrink, and the working class to increase. “I was going to go back to school but what is the point?” He begins to leave work earlier, come in later, his production decreases, and his apathetic attitude worsens.

This worker isn’t by himself. Teachers, coal miners, waitresses, and many across America saw the AIG story and felt the same way. They reacted in a similar manner by decreasing production and losing hope of a brighter tomorrow promised to be fulfilled by the American dream if one works hard and believes. We see evidence of this by decreased production and record low consumer confidence.

In the grand scheme of things, the amount of AIG bonuses was very small compared to the amount of funds being thrown around to fix this economic crisis. However, the impact on the American people was quite large. Faith is one of the most important commodities to the American people. Is $787 billion enough to create enough jobs and restore this economy? No. However, the government was never meant to be the fix-all of our economic woes. The stimulus was only meant to “stimulate” the economy…provide the jump start that we need to get going in the right direction. The faith of the people is going to fill the void.

Faith is one half believing in a brighter future and the other half is acting on that belief. If the people lose hope of a brighter tomorrow they will not believe and consequently will lose their motivation to work as hard as they can for themselves, families, and community. In this economy it really is “all hands on deck”. We need EVERYONE to work as hard as they can to be as productive as possible. Without faith people will not go back to school or get re-trained to help solve this unemployment crisis. Without faith people will not purchase homes and stunt the decrease in home values to help fix this housing crisis. If we don’t have faith, we will see the level of apathy continue to rise while production continues to decrease causing this recession to lengthen.

It is time for all of us to do what American’s have done throughout this country’s brilliant history and answer to a higher calling. Just because something is legal does not make it right. I pray that one of the valuable lessons we have learned from this economic crisis is that we are all in this together, and all of our decisions should be made for the good of the commons, the people and NOT for the good of our pockets.

Talking Points Memo
Josh Marshall

According to the Post's A1 story tomorrow, the administration is 'considering asking Congress' (i.e., this is a trial balloon) to give the Treasury Secretary powers to seize non-bank financial institutions: in other words, the Lehman Brotherses and AIGs of the financial world.

Also in the background is the emerging debate about what government agency is going to take on the new role as 'systemic risk regulator' - the Fed? or some new agency yet to be created. This is an issue that Elana Schor has been writing about at TPMDC. And it seems to be swirling in the background in the spat between the White House and Sen. Dodd.

Read more...

The Daily Beast
Lucinda Franks

In a Daily Beast exclusive, one of the fraudster’s employees tells Lucinda Franks that the supposedly legitimate brokerage operations were in fact just money-losing fronts for the fraudster's scheme. Plus, what Madoff’s sons told staff the day after Bernie’s arrest, trips to the company’s secretive 17th floor, Bernie’s obsession with the color black and employee neatness, the roles of other family members, and visits to the founder’s Montauk home.

An employee of Bernard Madoff’s legitmate brokerage operations, which were described by the fraudster in his plea agreement as being “successful and profitable,” has told The Daily Beast that they were in fact money-losers that acted as a front for his Ponzi scheme.

He said that these businesses, the proprietary and market-making arms on the 18th and 19th floors of Madoff Securities, were designed to lure investors in, especially highly placed figures in society, and to fool the SEC into thinking that he had a large and impressive galaxy of businesses.

But behind the façade, these businesses were a shambles. They were excessively staffed with grossly overpaid people, and run with marked inefficiency, he said.

Read more...

Program Note: Watch Randi Kaye’s full report tonight on AC360 at 10 p.m. ET.

The pack of media at the home of AIG executive Douglas Poling as the group tries to deliver the letter.

Outside of Poling's house.

Randi Kaye | Bio
AC360° Correspondent

This was not your everyday guided bus tour. On board with me were a few dozen people who were either struggling financially or had lost their jobs or their homes. This tour took us through affluent areas of Connecticut so those less fortunate could see how some of the executives from AIG are living.

The tour was organized by the group, Connecticut Working Families, and dubbed the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Infamous” bus tour. It took us past two of the executives homes who had received big bonus checks from AIG even after the government had bailed out the company with about $170 billion in taxpayer dollars.

Our first stop was the home of Douglas Poling, an AIG executive who got the biggest bonus of all this month. His take was $6.4 million. The people on the tour tried to ring the bell at his house and hand-deliver a letter but tight security stopped them and the dozens of media following them at the driveway. So one member of the group read the letter out loud at the edge of the property and then put it in the mailbox.

The guy who read it is 24, lives with his parents in Hartford, CT, and earns about $7000 a year he told me teaching music. He also owes about $2000 in medical bills. You’ll meet him tonight in my story for Anderson Cooper 360° and hear what he has to say about how he lives compared to how these executives live.

Our next stop took us to the home of AIG executive James Haas. You should’ve seen this one. A multi-million dollar spread up on a hill with a gorgeous view of Southport Harbor. Again, they tried to get to the front door and were stopped by security. Again, the letter was read and placed in the mailbox.

Then we all headed to the AIG offices in Wilton Connecticut where the Financial Products division is based. That’s the group at AIG that specializes in credit-default swaps, contracts that are at the heart of the mortgage crisis.

The group protested there chanting and carrying signs that read “Dude, where’s my life savings?” and “AIG Bailout Crooks” and “Lifestyles of the Rich and Shameless”. I should note that the two executives who this bus tour tried to visit have agreed to give back their bonus checks, following the uproar around the country over them. As one AIG spokesman put it, “it was the correct thing to do.”

Timothy Geithner
For the Wall Street Journal

The American economy and much of the world now face extraordinary challenges, and confronting these challenges will continue to require extraordinary actions.

No crisis like this has a simple or single cause, but as a nation we borrowed too much and let our financial system take on irresponsible levels of risk. Those decisions have caused enormous suffering, and much of the damage has fallen on ordinary Americans and small-business owners who were careful and responsible. This is fundamentally unfair, and Americans are justifiably angry and frustrated.

The depth of public anger and the gravity of this crisis require that every policy we take be held to the most serious test: whether it gets our financial system back to the business of providing credit to working families and viable businesses, and helps prevent future crises.

Keep Reading...