"How do we stop Newt?"

A coherent vision for federal education policy starts not by micromanaging schools, but by focusing on the four functions Washington alone can perform.

In the case of the asset backed securities portfolio that the Fed acquired in support of the Bear Stearns acquisition by JPMorgan Chase the Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee suggested that the Fed disclose the names of counterparties to transactions, how transactions were priced, the quality and extent of collateralization and the current market-to-market values on those assets.

The rescue offers Greece the opportunity for an extended struggle to settle for slow economic growth for an extended period. This debt crisis is not over...

Attempts at austerity and deleveraging in Europe have converted an economic problem into a political dilemma, with leftist governments rising against Germany's austerity-laced rescue packages. Germany now faces a tough economic decision that will involve choosing between a breakup of the current euro system and a movement toward a common fiscal policy in Europe.

FDIC losses flow from a bank's entire balance sheet and not just from a few specific asset categories.  It is hard to square the FDIC's losses with the limited focus of the Financial Stability Plan, developed by the bank regulators and the U.S. Treasury. Their Plan focuses on only a few categories of troubled assets rather than on an institution's overall solvency.

The new Public-Private Investment Program looks similar to, and faces the same technical challenges as, plans proposed by then-treasury secretary Paulson last year.

President Obama's sustainability-focused remake of the U.S. economy must confront harsh commercial and scientific realities.