Misc. financial crisis

1. Spiegel asked five Nobel prize winners in economics for advice for the leaders of the G20 summit...

Paul A. Samuelson: The Dynamic Moving Center
Joseph E. Stiglitz: Global Crisis -- Made in America
Edmund S. Phelps: What Has Gone Wrong up until Now
Richard Selten: Regulation of the Financial Market Is Important
Robert E. Lucas: The Recession Is the More Immediate Problem

2. ProPublica puts together a timeline showing AIG's demise...

3. Former Clinton Official Says Democrats, Obama Advisers Share Blame for Market Meltdown - Former SEC Chair Arthur Levitt (1993 - 2001) allows that responsibility for the conditions that led up to the current financial crisis began to be set many years ago, as far back as the Clinton administrations and earlier... "... As the world financial system implodes, Democrats have blamed the Bush administration's lack of regulation for creating the conditions for collapse. But a top Clinton regulator acknowledges that he and his colleagues a decade ago "beat back" regulatory efforts that could have prevented credit markets from becoming so precariously balanced they were “milliseconds” from disaster..."

4. The number of parties seeking to access TARP funds continues to grow... This includes cities (e.g. 'San Jose mayor seeks slice of bailout pie' 'TARP Cities' - Philadelphia, Phoenix and Atlanta ), insurance companies (e.g. '4 insurers seek to buy thrifts for part of bailout'), states and local governments (e.g. 'TARP, CPFF Expansion Called For - States, localities Seek Participation'), the automakers, etc....

5. 'TARP: Banks Give Congress the Right to ^*&*^! Them' warns the banks that by accepting TARP funds they have left themselves open to Congress unilaterally changing the rules governing the loans, since "... the deal is subject to any modification that Congress wants to make. Section 5.3 says that Treasury may unilaterally change the terms of the deal to conform with laws passed by Congress. This is a huge danger ..."