US bailout cost estimate slashed

The US financial bailout will cost less than $50 billion, the Obama administration said on Thursday, slashing a prior estimate by more than half on the back of a new plan to sell the government's stake in insurer American International Group.

The US financial bailout will cost less than $50 billion, the Obama administration said on Thursday, slashing a prior estimate by more than half on the back of a new plan to sell the government's stake in insurer American International Group.

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White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said converting the stake in bailed out insurance giant AIG to common stock could reap as much as $20 billion at Thursday's market prices, bringing down the overall cost.