The Financial Times reports that the Obama administration is expected to come out with a "big bang" announcement next week that will see a bank clean-up, measures to reduce home foreclosures and moves to to kick-start credit markets. The FT says the measures might include the purchase of toxic assets by a "bad bank", insurance-style guarantees for problem assets remaining on bank balance sheets, and subsidies for programs that reduce unsustainable monthly mortgage payments.

Still, the US Government should pay heed to the latest Government Accountability office report which says that the US Government's Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) still lacks transparency. It says Treasury has taken some steps to address the problems but there are still issues about accountability and process to ensure everyone knows where public money is going.

The report says: "Treasury has continued to develop a system for detecting noncompliance with key requirements of the program but has not yet finalized its plans. Further, Treasury has made limited progress in formatting articulating and communicating an overall strategy for TARP, continuing to respond to institution- and industry-specific needs by, for example, making further capital purchases and offering loans to the automobile industry. In addition, it has not yet developed a strategic approach to explain how its various programs work together to fulfill TARP's purposes or how it will use the remaining TARP funds."

The report also says there continue to be problems with hiring for oversight of the program. And more alarmingly, the GAO warns that it is still too early to say whether it will work. Indeed, it might never be able to do that.

"Given the recency of program actions and time lags in the reporting of available data, GAO continues to believe that it is too early in the program's implementation to see measurable results in many areas. Even with more time and better data, it will remain difficult to separate the impact of TARP activities from the effect of other economic forces."