Thursday, July 17, 2008

This Is All Getting Desperate


Just look at how things are unfolding. As the markets wait to see which major bank will implode next, the idea of Fed as “Supercop” is gaining ever more traction.
The Fed and Treasury will soon be granted the right to purchase “unlimited stakes” in publicly traded companies like FNM and FRE. The general consensus is that there’s no move too drastic when it comes to saving the “system”... and so it’s only a matter of time before the Fed gets carte blanche to carry out its mission by “whatever means necessary.”

Just take a look around and you can see the evidence of what’s happening…
Who would have thought, for example, that we would see angry deposit holders have run-ins with police because they can’t withdraw their money fast enough? (That is what’s happening at various branches of IndyMac Bank, the failed S&L that was seized by the Feds.)
Or who would have thought that the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) would be worried enough to suspend short-selling rights on major financial stocks -- a pointless maneuver and a sign of blatant desperation if there ever was one? It won’t help things, and might only make things worse if it frightens remaining shareholders. But as a sign of the times it speaks loud and clear. We aren’t headed toward a quick and easy wrap-up here. We’re headed into a major escalation of some kind.

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