Is Prime Minister Brown in Washington to discuss rebuilding the global financial system with his American host, or is he simply looking for an “Obama bounce”? British reporters seemed to conclude the latter, filing stories with unflattering headlines, like: “Gordon Brown Hangs Hopes on Visit to Obama.” and “Brown Fiddles Abroad While Britain Burns.” Ouch. Ostensibly, PM Brown has arrived in the U.S. to discuss the global economic crisis with President Obama and Congressional lawmakers in the advent of hosting the G-20 meeting in London next month. But being seen with a powerful friend and receiving public support for the economic initiatives that he has implemented could very well be the real reason for Brown’s visit, as the polls at home show that Britain's Conservative Party is enjoying a 10 point lead. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke testified before the Senate Budget Committee today. He was invited to talk about President’s spending priorities and the economy. The frustration was palpable in the room, both on the part of the lawmakers and the Fed Chairman himself. The Senators are conduits for their constituents who are angry at the fast-moving bailout train that the U.S. Government boarded and is not getting off any time soon. Case in point, the continuing AIG bailout. Mr. Bernanke himself opening acknowledged his anger with the AIG. He said the company basically acted like a “huge hedge fund” attached to a large and stable insurance company. This allowed AIG to exploit huge gaps in the U.S. regulatory system. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was also grilled by the House Ways and Means Committee members about AIG. He defended yesterday’s decision to provide $30 billion more in bailout funds to AIG, because as a “huge, complex, global insurance company attached to a very complicated investment bank, [a] hedge fund that was allowed to build up without any adult supervision” the company’s potential collapse would put the entire U.S. economy at risk. Apparently, AIG was allowed to get so big, that even the government is “afraid” of it now. All there major stock exchanges declined a bit further today, about half a percentage point on average, from Monday’s plunge. The Dow now stands at 6,726 points. No goods news for investors, yet.