Hatched hastily almost two months ago, the TARP was conceived to stabilize markets and restore investor confidence, but critics argue it  is now looking so amorphous and vulnerable to political trade winds, that it is has become almost a constant of uncertainty.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson defended his decision to change how the $700 billion bailout fund is used, telling CNBC it was forced by the spreading credit crisis.

In nearly a century, no Treasury secretary has faced a more difficult financial crisis than Henry Paulson. For months, he and his team have been working around the clock, often seven days a week, trying — in vain — to keep it from deepening, says the New York Times.

The US government mishandled the credit crisis, much as it did Hurricane Katrina three years ago, say crisis management experts.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the government will now provide cash to financial firms in exchange for equity, as the government steps us rescue efforts.

Congress approved a $700 billion bank bailout Friday, but stocks tumbled as investors worried that the plan wouldn't be enough to stem the credit crisis.

Congress pledged to hammer out a revised financial bailout proposal, but it was unclear how much support any new plan would get.

The fate of a Wall Street bailout remained unclear as a White House meeting of both parties ended without an agreement and some participants said a deal may even be dead.

A Wall Street bailout proposal was greeted with bipartisan skepticism in Congress, signaling that the $700 billion measure faces an uphill battle.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Friday called for the U.S. government to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to take toxic mortgage assets off the books of financial firms to restore financial stability.