The Chairman of the Fed actually said this today in congressional testimony :

"We're not completely in the dark. We're working along a program that has been applied in various contexts, obviously not in identical contexts, in other countries in other times. So we're not making it up, we know broadly speaking what needs to be done."

That's another quote I'll be keeping for future use.

My translation :

We are completely in the dark. The plan changes every few days as we get more and more desperate. We're making it up as we go along.


Here's another good one :

Citigroup and the US Treasury are nearing agreement on a deal that would give the federal government a stake of about 40 per cent in the troubled bank in exchange for bolstering its depleted capital base.


People close to the situation said no agreement had yet been reached and the government had yet to give its approval to the plan proposed by Citi, which stops short of outright nationalisation. But they added that negotiations between Citi's executives and Treasury officials had made progress since the weekend and an announcement could come as early as today or tomorrow.


My translation :


Citi to US Government : For You We Make Special Deal.