Wen Jiabao

Image by World Economic Forum via Flickr

25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis - TIME:

If cheap credit was the crack cocaine of this financial crisis — and it was — then China was one of its primary dealers. China is now the largest creditor to the U.S. government, holding an estimated $1.7 trillion in dollar-denominated debt. That massive build-up in dollar holdings is specifically linked to China's efforts to control the value of its currency. China didn't want the renminbi to rise too rapidly against the dollar, in part because a cheap currency kept its export sector humming — which it did until U.S. demand cratered last fall."

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Bailout Funding Sources

Great chart that breaks down what the US government has committed in terms of dollars and what agencies it is using to do it.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/data?pid=avimage&iid=i0YrUuvkygWs

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U.S. Pledges Top $7.7 Trillion to Ease Frozen Credit

Image by imageining via FlickrBloomberg.com: Exclusive: Nov. 24 -- "The U.S. government is prepared to provide more than $7.76 trillion on behalf of American taxpayers after guaranteeing $306 billion of Citigroup Inc. debt yesterday. The pledges, amounting to half the value of everything produced in the nation last year, are intended to rescue the financial system after the credit markets seized up 15 months ago.

The unprecedented pledge of funds includes $3.18 trillion already tapped by financial institutions in the biggest response to an economic emergency since the New Deal of the 1930s, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The commitment dwarfs the plan approved by lawmakers, the Treasury Department’s $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. Federal Reserve lending last week was 1,900 times the weekly average for the three years before the crisis."

The important thing to note at this time is that the $700B TARP bailout is just the tip of the iceberg. Keep an eye on this story updates. The writers, Bloomberg's Mark Pittman and Bob Ivry, seem to have a good feel for these complex issues.

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Bloomberg.com: Economy

Bloomberg.com: Economy: "Fragile Banks" The Treasury also said it is working on another element of its plan that will specifically address banks that may be on the brink of failure. Those banks will face different guidelines than healthier firms who take part in the asset-buying and capital injection programs."

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