The Big Bailout

(Newser) - America needs to learn some hard lessons that a $700 billion bailout of the economy isn't going to teach, David Ignatius writes in the Washington Post . If the the country manages to dodge a depression, the message will be that irresponsible behavior brings a rescue, and that bills don't need to be paid, he notes. More »

(Newser) - The men who should have been warning us about the impending financial crisis were a wee bit off the mark at times. MSNBC rounds up some of the dumbest things said: "Subprime market problems seem likely to be contained."—Ben Bernanke, March 28, 2007 "The fundamentals of our economy are strong."—John McCain, Sept. 15 More »

(Newser) - The federal government is dishing out a $6 billion bailout to keep auto financing giant GMAC afloat, the New York Times reports. The Treasury Department will spend $5 billion to buy a stake in the former General Motors subsidiary, and will loan GM a further billion so the company can increase its 49% stake in GMAC. The money will come from the government's $700 billion bailout fund. More »

(Newser) - For a tight-knit group of former top government officials, the current financial crisis is a golden opportunity. Veterans of the savings and loan bailout of the 1990s, these operatives, now mostly lawyers and bank advisers, are doing a brisk business telling clients how to profit from the meltdown, the New York Times reports. “It is a good time to be me,” said one lawyer who helped found the Resolution Trust Corporation. More »

(Newser) - The Federal Reserve today approved a request by General Motors’ financial arm to become a bank-holding company so it can petition for money from the $700 billion bailout pot, the Wall Street Journal reports. GMAC would also have access to direct Fed loans, helping loosen credit and complement the $17.4 billion in emergency loans the White House has extended to GM and Chrysler. More »

(Newser) - Congress' plan to bail out Detroit ignores one fundamental problem: Americans owe so much on their current cars—often more than the vehicles are worth—that they can't buy new ones, writes Stephanie Mencimer in Mother Jones . Detroit—along with the "great scourge of the American consumer market: the car dealer"—makes its real money selling not cars but dodgy loans. The result: negative equity for consumers, the same problem vexing the housing industry. More »

(Newser) - A dozen years after bailing out the Soviet government, Russia’s oligarchs are seeking $78 billion in Kremlin handouts to weather the credit crunch, Bloomberg reports. Russian businesses have racked up some $110 billion in foreign debt due in 2009. The one-year loans, sought by more than 100 companies, would likely shift control of some industries back to the state. More »

(Newser) - Developers worried about the health of the commercial real estate market want a piece of the bailout action, the Wall Street Journal reports. They say $530 billion in commercial mortgages will be up for ref