Depending on how the rescue plan is operated, it could bloat our final bill for this mess while benefiting the very institutions that got us into it.

A.I.G. was racing to arrange a $75 billion line of credit after major credit agencies cut their ratings on its debt.

The Federal Reserve is said to have asked two investment banks to put together $75 billion in loans to help prop up A.I.G.

MBIA agreed to take control of nearly $200 billion of municipal bonds currently backed by a rival bond insurer, in a move that could help its competitor avoid bankruptcy.

As regulators try to get a handle on the runaway freight train known as the credit default swap market, companies that sold default insurance are getting hammered.

Credit default swaps are taking center stage in another Wall Street drama: whether regulators will let MBIA, the big bond insurance company, renege on a promise to shore up a crucial unit with $900 million in capital.