Two brief (six pages each) Congressional Research Summaries about the current financial crisis are now available from the Thurgood Marshall Law Library. The reports provide a good basis for understanding the current financial turmoil.
The Cost of Government Financial Interventions, Past and Present discusses recent financial interventions by the government in the business of private corporations including sources of funding and costs to the taxpayer. The report uses AIG, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac, and Bear Stearns as examples and provides a table summarizing current and historical financial interventions by the Federal Government.
Using a draft version of 9/21/2008, the Proposal to Allow Treasury to Buy Mortgage-Related Assets to Address Financial Instability analyzes Treasury Secretary Paulsen's plan to purchase mortgage-related assets from troubled U.S. financial institutions.
For those at Rice University, CQ Weekly also provides background information about the financial crisis.
