'Bad Bank' Funding Plan Starts to Get Fleshed Out
The Obama administration, filling in some of the blanks in its bank bailout, is considering creating multiple investment funds to purchase the bad loans and other distressed assets that lie at the heart of the financial crisis, according to the WSJ.

U.S. Likely to Keep the Reins on Fannie and Freddie
Despite assurances that the takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would be temporary, the giant mortgage companies will most likely never fully return to private hands, lawmakers and company executives are beginning to quietly acknowledge in this NY Times article.

Citi to Allow Jobless to Pay Less on Loans
Citigroup Inc. announced Tuesday a new program aimed at addressing the latest challenge facing the mortgage industry: unemployed homeowners as reported by the WSJ.

AIG's Black Box
The fourth rescue is not a charm.... Closing at 45 cents a share yesterday, AIG now stands as a monument to the folly of regulatory panic says this article in WSJ.

A Moderate Manifesto
"They (Moderates) will have to take the economic crisis seriously and not use it as a cue to focus on every other problem under the sun. They're going to have to offer an agenda that inspires confidence by its steadiness rather than shaking confidence with its hyperactivity," according to David Brooks.

Stock Sell-Off Spurs Fears That Slump Will Worsen
U.S. stock markets plunged 4 percent yesterday to close at the lowest levels in nearly 12 years, sparking fresh fears of a prolonged and more severe decline. Washington Post article.

Mass. Business Leaders Want 25-Cent Gas Tax Hike
Gov. Deval Patrick picked up support for a sizable increase in the state's gasoline tax from business leaders who favor an even larger hike of 25 cents per gallon reports the AP.

'Unscathed' JPMorgan Said to Reap $5 Billion Derivatives Profit
JPMorgan Chase & Co. managed to generate $5 billion in profit during the worst year in Wall Street history by trading over-the-counter fixed-income derivatives, two people with knowledge of the results said in this Bloomberg article.