TARP Cost Cut by $200B

The Obama administration is planning to cut the projected long-term cost of its financial bailout program, TARP, by more than $200 billion—freeing up funds, perhaps, for a jobs-creation program. Lifted by Wall Street gains, the Treasury now estimates that the 10-year cost of the $700-billion package will be $141 billion. Citigroup, The Financial Times notes, is racing to pay back its $20 billion in TARP funds: If it fails to do so in the next 10 days, it will have to wait at least another month.