Obama's $1 Trillion Plan to End Bank Crisis, by Matthew Jaffe, ABC News, March 23, 2009 Summary: The Obama administration announced its long-awaited plan for averting crisis in the U.S. banking sector. According to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, the government will allocate up to $1 trillion in taxpayer funds to purchase billions of dollars of depressed mortgage-based assets. The failed mortgages were issued by banks during the housing boom and were subsequently made worthless through a tidal wave of foreclosures by cash-strapped borrowers. Discussion Questions

At Last, Tata Motors' $2,000 Nano, by Mehul Srivastava, BusinessWeek, March 23, 2009 Summary: India's Tata Motors is showing that less is more with its ultracheap Nano. Priced at just $2,000, the tiny car is set to convert India's one billion citizens from rickshaws to rear-wheel drive. Discussion Questions

Geithner: 'I should have known about bonus problems sooner' by CNN, March 19, 2009 Summary: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd set off a firestorm of protests in March by allowing a government-rescued insurance company to offer employees $165 million in bonus money. Although the bonuses at insurance firm AIG are in-line with industry standards, the recent government takeover of the firm means the company will be required to function more like a government agency than a privately owned business. According to CEO Edward Liddy, executives at AIG received death threats over the administration's mishandling of the executive pay. Regulators have revised AIG's bailout three times since stepping in during September 2008. Discussion Questions

The Applebee's of haute cuisine, by Jay Cheshes, Fortune, March 23, 2009 Summary: Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten must not have gotten the message that a recession is in progress. The New York-based restaurateur has opened 24 upscale cuisine restaurants and expects to have 50 within the next five years. Bankrolled by the private equity firm behind such popular chains as Outback Steakhouse, Vongerichten is mass producing tuna-wasabi pizza and foie gras brule through three fine dining concepts: Market, J&G Steakhouse, and Spice Market. Discussion Questions