nullWarren Buffett: Once again, the Oracle of Omaha tops the list of winners, striking a similar deal with General Electric as the one he signed last week with Goldman Sachs. Buffett is getting a 10% yield on his $3 billion in perpetual preferred stock, as well as warrants for $3 billion of GE stock with a strike price that is below the current share price. Buffett has his pick of the litter in this credit crisis, but he does drive a hard bargain.

nullHank Paulson: It’s been a long week for the Treasury Secretary, but he ended it cheerily. After a weekend of hammering out a deal on the bailout with lawmakers, Paulson watched Monday as the House failed to pass it. On Friday, though, Paulson got his $700 bailout fund. Now, let’s hope that it works.

nullWachovia’s Shareholders: Wells Fargo agreed to buy Wachovia for $15.4 billion, jumping Citigroup’s government-backed deal. In retaliation, Citigroup is considering increasing its nearly $2 billion offer for Wachovia’s banking operations. However this shakes out, one thing is clear: Wachovia’s shareholders are getting more than they expected on Monday.

nullFederal Deposit Insurance Corp.: On the one hand, Wells Fargo Fargo’s decision to jump Wachovia’s deal with Citigroup is a positive. After all, under the agreement with Citigroup, the FDIC would possibly have to back stop potential billions of dollars in Wachovia losses. But on the other hand, it is negative. Citigroup had promised the FDIC $12 billion in warrants and preferred shares. And what bank will show up to buy assets in an FDIC rescue, if they can not be sure the deal will go through?

nullCitigroup: On Monday, Citigroup scooped up most of Wachovia Corp. for nearly $2 billion in a government-engineered takeover. The deal was viewed as victory for Citi for one simple reason: Deposits. Nothing beats a large deposit base when funding is tight, and Wachovia would have lifted Citigroup’s global deposits to a whopping $1.3 trillion. But on Friday, Wachovia laid a surprise at Citi’s feet: The Charlotte-based bank struck a $15.4 billion deal to sell itself to Wells Fargo with no government backing. Now Citigroup has to fight for a deal it believed it owned just days ago.

nullWashington: Whether you agree with the bailout plan or not, Monday’s bumbling rejection vote on the bailout bill was perhaps Washington at its worst. As the WSJ’s editorial page wrote: “Monday’s crash and burn of the Paulson plan on Capitol Hill reveals a Washington elite that has earned every bit of the disdain that Americans have for it. This crowd can’t even make sausage.”

nullWall Street: Clearly, one could ask: “What week this year hasn’t seen Wall Street be a loser?” True enough. The financial crisis has battered its investment banks. But this week’s votes on the rescue bill — often referred to as a bailout for Wall Street — brought to the forefront Main Street’s long-held disgust for Wall Street. And the vice-presidential debate just hammered that feeling home. Hardly a mention of Wall Street occurred this week without the words “greed” and “corruption” attached — particularly from the Republican candidates, John McCain and Sarah Palin.