Central banks worldwide are intervening massively in the markets. The Russian stock market has been closed for several days after precipitous declines. China is also propping up their cratering stock market. Britain has banned short selling on some financial stocks, the US may do the same. The Fed and Treasury plan a massive bailout agency akin to RTC.

Dunno. This doesn’t sound like panic to me. More like something unholy has broken loose from its chains and central banks are desperately trying to kill it before it wreaks more destruction.

Some financial blogs are outraged that the supposed free market US government is intervening. Could it be a devious plot to save the investment banks? I have a different theory, especially since this is happening worldwide, not just in the US. The central banks are terrified. And are doing whatever they think needs to be done to stave off catastrophe.

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Apocalyptic forebodings (or maybe a tinfoil hat alert) from Jim Cramer at TheStreet.com

It almost feels like financial terrorism. It feels like we are in a moment where there are institutions that are willing the destruction of our banks, institutions that want the nation’s financial system to fail.

But

I have no evidence of any of this

But you’ll say it anyway. Perhaps short sellers should be flogged as a preventative measure?

I literally am searching for a reason why this is all happening

Hmmm. Could years of a deliberate lack of regulation from D.C. combined with overweening greed on the part of investment bankers and insane amounts of leverage have anything to do with it?

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A reporter asked McCain whether, if elected, he would receive [Prime Minister of Spain] Zapatero in the White House. McCain answered, “Honestly, I have to analyze our relationships, situations, and priorities, but I can assure you that I will establish closer relationships with our friends, and I will stand up to those who want to harm the United States.”

There’s been much conjecture as to how McCain could have been so braindead. Did he confuse Zapatero with Hugo Chavez or have a “senior moment”? Perhaps he thought the reporter said “Zapatistas” not “Zapatero”?

Not even Dick Cheney at his most bellicose and paranoid has ever ranted that Spain wants to harm the US, so it’s unclear what alternate universe McCain was operating out of.

Happily, the most recent polls show that Obama holds a widening national lead and that the Palin bounce is turning into a crater.

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Proof positive that the anti-regulatory policies of the Bush Administration directly led to the current financial crisis.

The SEC gave a special exemption in 2004 to five firms permitting them to exceed a debt-to-net capital ratio of 12-to-1 and leverage up to 30 or 40 to 1, thus greatly increasing their risk (and possible reward, except of course where their overly leveraged house of cards collapses)

“The SEC modification in 2004 is the primary reason for all of the losses that have occurred,” Mr. Pickard, who is now a senior partner at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm Pickard & Djinis, said.

The five firms were, no big surprise here, Goldman, Merrill, Lehman, Bear Stearns, and Morgan Stanley. Due to the reckless policies of the SEC and the greed of these investment firms, it’s all blown up in their faces. Merrill recently collapsed and was bought by BofA, Bear self-destructed and the scraps were bought by JP Morgan Chase, Lehman is bankrupt. And now Goldman and Morgan are wobbling badly with Dealbreaker reporting that hedge funds are rapidly fleeing from them.

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The structure of the tree house is made from malleable roots that are hardened into girder-like structures. The house isn’t in the tree, the house is part of the tree. Prototype homes are expected in about ten years.

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Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack has been complaining bitterly about how those evil-intentioned short sellers have been driving down the price of their stock (it got clobbered yesterday, down nearly 25%) but the NY Times is now quoting him as having said “We need a merger partner or we’re not going to make it” to the CEO of Citi.

If he thought the sharks smelled blood in the water yesterday, wait until today when the market opens…

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