Governments buying stock directly in banks

The administration will use perhaps as much as $250bn US of the $700bn US bailout program recently passed by Congress to purchase stock in U.S. banks, providing the banks with desperately needed capital, the official said.

The UK government unveiled an injection of £37bn ($63bn) into Britain's biggest high street banks.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel outlined a rescue package up to 80 billion euros ($109bn) to be used to recapitalize the German banking sector.

I'm amazed that anybody (other than socialists) thinks this is a good idea.