Your customized headlines for Sun, Apr 15, 2012

The first time Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala ever had to convince Barack Obama of anything was back in 2005.

At the time, Obama was an ambitious young senator from Illinois with a keen interest in foreign affairs. Okonjo-Iweala was Nigeria's blunt-speaking finance minister, traversing the globe to convince the world's wealthiest nations that they should ease her country's debt burden.

The big idea: The presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney has brought increased scrutiny of the role of private equity in the U.S. economy. Those concerned about more disclosure have said, "It's called private equity for a reason." Yet the growth in the size and influence on the corporate sector raises a key question: How much does the public have a right to know?

The big idea: The presidential candidacy of Mitt Romney has brought increased scrutiny of the role of private equity in the U.S. economy. Those concerned about more disclosure have said, "It's called private equity for a reason." Yet the growth in the size and influence on the corporate sector raises a key question: How much does the public have a right to know?

At a press briefing on Friday, senior Treasury officials had some good news to trumpet: The government's bailout of the financial system during the crisis has cost less than expected.

According to the most recent Congressional Budget Office estimates, the total cost of TARP has fallen from $700 billion to $34 billion. In 2010, the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was projected to cost $53 billion by 2020, and the White House now estimates that cost will shrink to $28 billion by 2022. Put together, all the government's efforts to bail out the financial system in 2008 and 2009 could ultimately end up turning a profit for taxpayers--in the ballpark of $10 billion, according to the Treasury Department.

The first time Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala ever had to convince Barack Obama of anything was back in 2005.

At the time, Obama was an ambitious young senator from Illinois with a keen interest in foreign affairs. Okonjo-Iweala was Nigeria's blunt-speaking finance minister, traversing the globe to convince the world's wealthiest nations that they should ease her country's debt burden.