When $700 billion just isn't enough

The US Treasury Dept is quickly running out of money to invest in troubled banks. A Time magazine study today shows that nearly one-third, or $216 billion, of the $700 billion that Congress approved to be spent just six weeks ago has already been spent or will soon be spent on just 67 banks. That's a small fraction of the up to 1800 financial firms that are expected to apply for government assistance. It seems very likely that the fund needs to double in size. While the Treasury still has about $480 billion to spend, it's not clear how much of what is left will be used for direct investments into banks.

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