Tech Ticker
http://atu.ca/ac0d0 - After a few weeks of
trying to stand tough in the face of demands for a
wholesale rescue, Hank Paulson apparently couldn't take it
anymore. So now we'll have the biggest bailout in history,
including:
* A huge RTC-like government garbage can that banks can
throw all their toxic balance-sheet waste into. (This time,
the transfer will be made before they go bankrupt, unlike
the case with the first RTC.)
* A temporary ban on shortselling. (With the unfortunate
implication that shorts are the cause of all this)
*A federal guarantee on money-market accounts. (Including
non-recourse loans to banks to buy high-quality commercial
paper and meet money-market obligations.)
Not surprisingly, the market's up huge on this news. The
moves should head off a run on money-market funds, restore
liquidity to the financial system, and, as bank analyst Tom
Brown puts it in the accompanying video, create a general
"time out" for the panic to recede.