The New York Times examines how a contractor, headed by a 22-year-old, came to supply Iraqi and Afghan security forces with 40-year-old ammunition. The firm, AEY, Inc., was awarded a $300 million contract to be a critical supplier of munitions to the Iraqi and Afghan security forces and supplied millions of rounds of ammunition from Cold War-era stockpiles in Eastern Bloc countries. AEY is one of many previously unknown defense companies to have thrived since 2003, when the Pentagon began dispensing billions of dollars to train and equip indigenous forces in Afghanistan and Iraq. Its rise from obscurity once seemed to make it a successful example of the Bush administration's promotion of private contractors as integral elements of war-fighting strategy.

When the Federal Reserve engineered JPMorgan's takeover of failing investment bank Bear Stearns, the Fed guaranteed some $30 billion in Bear Stearn's assets. This has prompted an investigation into the deal by the Senate Finance Committee. Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) explains why Congress should get involved:

In a statement by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on the 2008 Social Security and Medicare Trust Fund Reports, the Secretary reaches deep to find big bad numbers to support his and the president's call for reform of the Social Security program.

A collaboration of Stan Collender, Pete Davis, Andrew Samwick and Troy K. Schneider, Capitalgainsandgames.com presents a bridge between the Washington and the Wall Street perspectives on federal fiscal policy, with a new and improved look.