Geithner Extends TARP

The government isn’t ready to pull its prop out from under financial markets: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner moved to extend the $700 billion financial bailout on Wednesday until 2010. Geithner said the extension will be limited to the housing market, capital for small banks, and other efforts to boost small-business lending. He pledged to use no more than $550 billion of the package and wants to use the other $150 billion to pay down the federal debt.