Wanna Buy a Toxic Asset?

This week, the U.S. Treasury cheered investors with the announcement of a new program to subsidize their investments in what they're calling "legacy assets." Obama administration officials say it should be enough to get the toxic sub-prime mortgage securities off of bank balance sheets and into the hands of investors and their new taxpayer partners. Last week, the Federal Reserve pulled a new hammer out of the tool box--something called "quantitative easing," which is Fed-speak for "print more money." These two programs have dramatically shifted dynamics in the world of finance. Markets rallied and lenders loosened their grip, but can this change the recession? We'll find out Wednesday morning at 9, and we'll talk about what you need to know about how the government is trying to get the wheels of the economy spinning smoothly again. Kevin Jacques Boynton D. Murch Chair in Finance and Associate Professor, Baldwin-Wallace College
Marilyn Geewax Senior Business Editor, NPR