Financial Roundup: Bailout Expanded, KKR Delays, Tough Fight for Feds, Arizona Homeowners Get Break and More

(MoneyWatch)  Treasury mulls expanding bailout ?€" Bond insurers and specialty finance firms such as GE Capital and CIT Group Inc. could benefit if Treasury expands the $700 billion bailout to include them. Begun to buy bad loans, the bailout now includes buying shares in various financial firms. [Source: The Wall Street Journal ]
KKR delays going public ?€"In another sign of woe in private equity, buyout king Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has delayed taking itself public. The privately-held firm will delay going public until at least next year due to market turmoil. [Source: The New York Times ]

Tough fight ahead for federal prosecutors ?€" The government might have a tough time prosecuting firms for allegedly fraudulent securities backed by sub prime mortgages. Unscrambling extremely complex financial instruments and assigning blame will prove difficult, says Peter Bresnan, the former SEC lawyer who prosecuted WorldCom. [Source: CFO.com ]

BofA gives Arizona homeowners a break ?€"The Bank of America is suspending foreclosures against nearly 2,000 homes in the Phoenix area. The bank is modifying loans for homeowners in Arizona, Texas, Ohio, Iowa and Washington if local attorneys general agree not to sue Countrywide Financial, which BofA bought last summer. [Source: Arizona Republic ]
Midwest Banc to get bailout money ?€"Midwest Banc Holdings Inc. is one of the latest of several dozen banks to get capital infusions from the federal bailout program. A big holder of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac preferred stock, the Melrose Park, Ill. firm may get $85.5 million. [Source: Chicago Tribune ]