Bailout

Workers are back on strike this morning in Greece, where the government is scheduled to vote on a new round of austerity cuts this week.

For months now, Spain has been bracing itself for a bailout. While the country waits, the government has already made many of the deep budget cuts that typically come with bailouts.

European leaders meet in Brussels today for a summit on whether to enact a banking union across the EU and check in on beleaguered Greece.

Whispers and nameless sources this morning are signaling Spain is preparing to ask the European Central Bank for a sovereign bailout causing bond and equity markets in Europe to zig and zag throughout the day.

According to a piece in this morning's Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Treasury's welcome at General Motors is wearing thin. GM is reportedly pushing for the government to sell most or all of its remaining stake -- currently about a quarter of the company. But the Obama administration seems to be in no hurry to exit.

Germany's top court has given the green light to Europe's new rescue fund. The court rejected claims that the fund was illegal under German law.

Last week in Europe there was relative euphoria: The European Central Bank said it stood ready to buy the government bonds of any nation that came seeking its help. That would help countries like Spain and Italy keep their borrowing costs down, and keep them from lapsing into financial crisis.

The U.S. government will continue to hold major stakes in the housing and financial worlds even though it is set to sell most of its remaining investment in AIG.

The Troubled Assets Relief Program -- TARP -- was the formal name for what we often just call "the bailout." In 2008 Congress allocated $700 billion to stabilize the U.S. financial industry. Congress and President Bush assigned one man to build a team, and police all that spending.