Transparency, anyone? White House keeps a lid on bailout info

Following Lawrence Summers' oddly inconclusive remarks yesterday to the Economic Club of Washington, the Treasury Department has asked banks to keep mum about the much-ballyhooed "stress tests" that they have undergone to determine their capital needs in difficult economic conditions. The apparent unwillingness of the federal government to disclose key information about the country's economic health has led some to assume the worst.

While yesterday's comments from Summers were generally up-tempo, they were almost painfully obtuse. In fact, he seemed to say little, beyond alluding to "encouraging signs" and stating that the feeling that the economy is in free-fall "will end within the next few months."