Wall Street Roundup: TARP’s price tag. Madoff’s jail troubles

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Slowing recovery. An index of leading economic indicators for February showed the least growth in a year, suggesting that the pace of the economic recovery may be slowing. The Conference Board’s index of 10 economic indicators rose 0.1% in February, after a 0.3% rise in January.

Low inflation. The government stimulus programs have led to fears of inflation, but that was not visible in February’s consumer price index, which did not increase at all from a month earlier.

Madoff’s new troubles. The Wall Street Journal reports that shortly after arriving in jail in December, Bernard Madoff had his nose broken by another inmate at a North Carolina federal prison.

TARP’s price tag. The Troubled Asset Relief Program will end up costing taxpayers $109 billion, according to a new report from the Congressional Budget Office.

-- Nathaniel Popper