[marshmallow]

Citi and B of A aren't insolvent. You are simply making it up. A thousand parrots repeat doom mongering idiocy, doesn't make it true.

Bought any shares in Bank of America recently, Jason?

[JasonC]

No I haven't, though I think they are fine speculations at these prices, and I wish I were in a position to do so. Both of them, and also foreign instances like ING and Barclays. (UBS isn't there yet but is getting close). I am sure my various funds own some, but as minor pieces.

The reason is purely tactical and personal. I've recently levered up to buy Arizona real estate at distressed prices, and I've stretched doing that about as far as I can swing. Which isn't merely a different call on an asset return; I now live there etc.

My standing recommendation on playing the whole crisis is to buy the senior securities now, bonds and preferreds, and use the coupons to buy common. This will average in to the latter at depressed prices over the right time scale. Do not touch the high quality bomb-shelter fixed income things (like treasuries, CDs, etc, with rates at zero). The credit markets will recover first.