[JasonC]

The best thing to happen is for those who acted without sufficient foresight to pay a serious penalty for it, that avoids moral hazard and maintains incentives - but not to smash entire institutions in the hundreds of billions range in assets. In the case of Bear, I'd call a 45% reduction in their stock in one day a serious penalty. What would you call it, a walk in the park? In the end, Bear may be saved by being merged with a stronger bank, to restore their capital to sufficient levels and eliminate the fear based liquidity issue.

Everyone involved needs to understand, though, that no financial institution can withstand an immediate and sudden "discredit" by all of its customers and trading partners. One can point to various things they could have done differently to avoid that happening, but in the end it is not simply under their control. Panic can break absolutely anything. And the standing means of dealing with that threat, whether in a public or a private banking system, is the lender of last resort.

The Fed is doing its job here. That job is necessary. Deal.

[HamiltonJay]

NO the fed isn’t doing its job, its bailing out bastards who decided that they could seperate risks from lending.. now when those risks have come home to roost, we’ve made sure the idiots who did it, get a nice payday out of the taxpayers for it.

BEARS needs to fall by the wayside and be a lesson so that others won’t repeat their mistakes.. but oh no, not in this age of gubment owned by corporate interests.