On Sep 15, 12:16 am, bakyimsing nomail.com> wrote:

My comment is based on the following article.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/lehman-crumbles-wall-street-turns/story.aspx...

"Was it almost 10 years ago when after the bailout of Long-Term
Capital Management when Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan waved
off lawmakers trying to rein in hedge funds?
Was it during the past five years when the rampant practice of
securitizing mortgages took responsibility out of the loan-making
game?
Was it the expiration of the uptick rule that allowed short sellers to
drop rumors like matches on the gasoline of market panic?"

Yes, yes, and yes. Behind these "yes" is moral irresponsibility.

"It's about time someone put moral hazard back on the industry. And
what's Wall Street doing with it? Punting, of course."

"On Wall Street they like to dazzle you with big numbers. Private
equity giant Blackstone Group LP (C:Citigroup, Inc
News, chart, profile, more C 17.96, -0.65, -3.5%%) has $120 billion in
assets under management. Its chief, Steven Schwarzman, cashed in
nearly a half a billion dollars after the firm's public offering. But
neither could spend $1 on Lehman. "

Hypocrisy according to the writer of the article.

"Dick Fuld, the soon-to-be former chairman and chief executive of
Lehman, and Jimmy Cayne, the former CEO of Bear Stearns, tried to
outdo each other with compensation. "

What do these leaders care except their own benefits?

"The employees of these firms aren't much better. They can't figure
out why the market has lost confidence in their eggshell companies
built on mountains of combustible derivatives. They scowl at
journalists, pay coffee vendors not to serve reporters who make a
fraction of what brokers do. They blame the media for their woes, not
their banking counterparts who have cold feet."

Where is their sense of being responsible?

"The mantra we've operated under since the Reagan administration has
been allowing deregulation to flower and counting on the marketplace
to discipline players in that marketplace," Hayes said. "Without
having the heavy hand of government regulation carrying that role" the
market failed. "

Adam Smith's invisible hand only work if guided by morality.