Everything you don’t understand about the historic bailout.

Does this have anything in common with the government’s bailout of Fannie, Freddie, and Bear?

They’re all symptoms of the same problem, but they are different types of companies, with different types of issues. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were tossing out subprime mortgages and never getting repaid. Bear Stearns was saddled by defaulted mortgage-backed securities and rampant short selling. AIG was insuring subprime-harmed companies. The three bailouts all represent different tasks in the subprime-mortgage conveyor belt.

Does the government have a guiding philosophy to its bailouts?

Not an explicit one. We know AIG and Bear Stearns were too big to fail, and Lehman Brothers was not. A Wall Street Journal op-ed from a former Fed member suggested three criteria should be questioned: how long the firm’s problems have been common knowledge, the savvy of its investors, and the interconnectivity of its assets.

Is there any chance AIG will still sell some of its assets?

Absolutely. The government provided something called a bridge loan to AIG, which in theory means the company will pay it back in due time. The loan carries a very hefty adjustable interest rate—about 11.5 percent as of right now. That means AIG will want to pay back the loans as quickly as possible. The most likely way to do that is through liquidation. Or somebody can buy AIG (there are a few potential suitors) and incorporate the U.S. loan into the price of the bid.