Treasury goal: $500B in toxic asset purchases

The Obama administration says it hopes a new bank rescue initiative will generate $500 billion in purchasing power to buy up toxic assets and get them off the books of the nation's banks. The administration also said Monday that the initial effort could grow to $1 trillion in purchases eventually, as the program proves successful in attacking the bad-books problem that has been at the heart of the worst banking crisis the United States has seen in seven decades. In a lengthy fact sheet, the administration said it plans to use $75 billion to $100 billion from the government's existing bailout program and that it expects participation from a broad array of institutions, ranging from pension funds to insurance companies and other long-term investors.