Fitch Ratings cut FGIC's financial strength rating Wednesday to double-A from triple-A, and it did the same to Ambac earlier this month.

FORBES: Bond Insurers Need Help--Fast

Ambac, FGIC and other big muni-bond insurers have weakened considerably.

FORBES: Munis: Better Than Treasuries?

Before the market blew up, state and local governments could reassure bondholders that if they ran into financial trouble, their bonds would be honored by specialty insurers, like MBIA , Ambac and Federal Guarantee Insurance Company (FGIC).

FORBES: Munis: Better Than Treasuries?

Mortgage insurer PMI Group said late Wednesday it will delay reporting its fourth-quarter and full-year 2007 financial results because of delays in receiving financial results from FGIC, a troubled bond insurer that it partly owns.

FORBES: Magazine Article

That "hands across Wall Street" effort seems unlikely now, though banks are meeting with individual bond insurers, including Ambac and Financial Guaranty (FGIC), two of the companies that are the targets of the Buffett offer.

FORBES: Buffett To The Rescue!

Mortgage insurer PMI Group (nyse: PMI - news - people ) said late Wednesday it will delay reporting its fourth-quarter and full-year 2007 financial results because of delays in receiving financial results from FGIC, a troubled bond insurer that it partly owns.

FORBES: Indicators Could Set Stage For Cuts