Brad Setser looks at the sovereign loss funds... a worthwhile reminder of just how much of global finance is still completely opaque (SWFs and the oil industry, for two.)

The mystery of Ecuador's idiotic default

Apparently, the Tarp's restrictions on executive pay have been carefully removed.

"Congress wanted to guarantee that the $700 billion financial bailout would limit the eye-popping pay of Wall Street executives, so lawmakers included a mechanism for reviewing executive compensation and penalizing firms that break the rules.

But at the last minute, the Bush administration insisted on a one-sentence change to the provision, congressional aides said..."

Read the whole thing - it's a very neat piece of manoeuvering.