[Attention Surplus Disorder]

I don't think that folks are generally aware that virtually all debt....car loans (unless carried by GMAC or Ford Credit) "two years same as cash" on mattresses or big screens....etc etc...are securitized, bundled, and resold. The big scrunch in the marketplace is that these debts sold at rates commensurate with their ratings (Fitch, Moody's, S&P) and the questionable hierarchy of ratings is now throwing all this debt and its' purported market value(s) into question.

[nicollo]

You nailed there both the cause of the sub-prime freakout (resale market dried up) and why it won’t explode any further (overall presence of stable players).

This is all just another magnificent American recycling of dollars — at some one else’s expense.