US markets

Reuters: "The Hong Kong newspaper cited unidentified industry sources as saying the instruction from the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) applied to interbank lending of all currencies to U.S. banks but not to banks from other countries.

"The decree appears to be Beijing's first attempt to erect defences against the deepening U.S. financial meltdown after the mainland's major lenders reported billions of U.S. dollars in exposure to the credit crisis," the SCMP said."

Thats a pretty shiny indication of how severe this problem is.

But think about this: a forest has to burn every few years to clear out the rot within. Afterwards, it grows back stronger and larger then before.

I believe that the plan put forth by the power grubbing Paulson and the newly socialist W is a cure worst then the disease.
(Paulson, incidentally, is a former employee of Goldman Sachs, a titian of fiance to whom much was just given by the taxpayers at Paulson's direction).

Rewarding the banks that had bad management, and failed miserably will only encourage further activity. So not only will this run the deficit to unparalleled levels, spit upon the constitution, and forever alter the expectations of Americans, it will bring about bigger problems later down the road.

Thats the crucial failure of welfare. It encourages negative behavior, and this is social welfare at its worst, theft of the poor to give to the rich.

High quality government cheese.