http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aMNX721eB9Rk&pos=2
Geithner Extends $700 Billion Bailout Program Until October By Robert Schmidt and Rebecca Christie Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) --Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congress that the Obama administration is extending the $700 billion financial-rescue program until next October, saying the U.S. must hold on to the money in case of new financial shocks. In a letter to congressional leaders, Geithner said the administration doesn’t expect to deploy more than $550 billion of the funds. He said the Treasury may expand the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, an effort to jumpstart securitization markets, as well as continue to use the Troubled Asset Relief Program to help struggling homeowners and small companies. “As we wind down many of the government programs launched initially to address the crisis, it is imperative that we maintain this capacity to respond if financial conditions worsen and threaten our economy,” Geithner wrote. To contact the reporter on this story: Robert Schmidt in Washington at rschmi...@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: December 9, 2009 09:30 EST [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]