Direct Investments in Financial Institutions

So much for the government buying up bad assets. Looks like the gears have shifted toward injecting money directly into our nation's banks in an attempt to "have a more immediate impact on shoring up the system and unfreezing credit markets" according to Congressional Quarterly.

It's hard to say if this plan is any better, but it looks as though the markets are not acting favorably to such decision. Todays Dow has dropped, as of 2:30 pm ET, 234 points. The Nasdaq has been hit even worse, down 76 points today. To put this into context, we're talking about billions of dollars in losses today.

Paulson, who has felt heavy criticism for his bailout plan, is now ostensibly trying to cover his ass saying that the bailout won't work overnight, comments that were supported by Bernanke. However, it sure seems like the problem was created overnight.