[Toddsterpatriot]

I did not end up putting on any shorts in the financials.

So right and yet no profit. :^(

But 0% since February does beat -24%.

But my portfolio is up since February.

[dollarbull]

But my portfolio is up since February.

How's it doing now? "Up since Feb 2006?"

Don't forget you are measuring your returns in $US - and that measuring stick has shrunk quite a bit.

This entire meltdown in the financial sector proves my point since the beginning that fractional reserve lending is not a viable framework on which to run an economy (works great if you are in the non-productive finance sector). All it does is create boom and bust cycles. The banking sector gets rich on the way up, and then gets bailed out on the way down. Joe sixpack pays the bill. This has been going on for a few centuries now.